The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich won the highly anticipated top game on the 30th gameday with a final score of 85-75 over Alba Berlin. In front of 13,626 spectators in the Halle at the Berliner Ostbahnhof the German champion, the Munich team showed up big in the final quarter and set the course for victory with a 20-4 run. The Munich team had had a hard time through three quarters on offense but turned it on when it mattered most. The top scorers for the standings leader were Danilo Barthel (without a missed shot) and US-Power Forward Derrick Williams with 15 points each.

For the Bavarians, the next playoff dress rehearsal is scheduled for Tuesday evening (30.04, 20:30), when the former series champion and cup winner Bamberg will visit the Audi Dome. 

Points per quarter Bayern - Berlin: 17-20, 22-21, 17-20, 29-14.

FCBB stats: Danilo Barthel (15 points), Derrick Williams (15 / 5 rebounds), Nihad Djedovic (14 / 3 threes / 7 assists), Petteri Koponen (12), Maodo Lo (7), Devin Booker (6), Stefan Jovic (5 / 11 assists), Nemanja Dangubic (5), Vladimir Lucic (4), Leon Radosevic (2), Alex King and Marvin Ogunsipe (dnp).

Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "It would be best to only talk about the last quarter. We were solid at first, but then we made too many mistakes defensively and offensively. We had problems in the man and Pick & Roll Defense. All in all, the focus was missing in the first half; for example, we gave away free throws, basket rolls and had some turnovers. In the third quarter Mattisseck put a lot of pressure on the ball and we lost control on offense. But in the last quarter we played both offensively and defensively completely differently and won the game. Congratulations to my players. But I would also like to congratulate Alba and coach Aito on a great EuroCup season. My personal opinion is that we will meet Berlin again this season".

Danilo Barthel: "We came back fighting in the last quarter, we got better and better on defense, got stops and moved the ball well in the front court. Something like that makes it easier for us to score on offense. We know what a hard piece of work we'll have to do in the playoffs and that Berlin is an extremely tough team. But I'm all the happier how we fought our way into the game and with the will to win it. We used the two weeks to train intensively. We arrived here with heavy legs to be fit in the playoffs. Bamberg is the next contender for the title and we we hope to beat them at home."

Aito Garcia Reneses (head coach Alba): "First of all my congratulations to the Bavarians for a strong EuroLeague season. It's very difficult to play this competition parallel to the Bundesliga. Munich is a very good team. They are very experienced and know exactly how to exploit certain situations."

1st quarter
FCBB coach Radonjic started with Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Barthel and Leon Radosevic. The first points for the champion were scored by Nihad Djedovic in the second minute. In the first minutes the Bavarians had problems on defense against last year's MVP, Luke Sikma, who scored seven points and led Radonjic early to his first time-out after Berlin took a 9-2 lead. The Bavarians woke up afterwards and got points from Lo and Barthel and were quickly to within two. In the final minutes of the first quarter Derrick Williams took over on offense and contributed six points to tie things at 17. Berlin answered with an and-one and Bayern was down 20-17 after one. 

2nd quarter
Petteri Koponen opened the second quarter with a three (20-20). The intensity remained high and after 13 minutes Williams provideed the first lead at the free-throw line, 25-24.  After two successful threes by Payton Siva Berlin took a three-point lead with a few minutes left in the half. Berlin defended their narrow lead until halftime but Koponen brought the Bavarians up to just two points back before the break at 41-39.

3rd quarter
The FCBB did not get a good start after the break and the hosts were able to take a double-digit lead, 56-45. Threes from Williams and Djedovic as well as free throws from Barthel brought the Bavarians back into the game and Djedovic finished the quarter at the line to inch to within seven with ten minutes to play.

4th quarter
In the final quarter the Bavarians had a perfect start: Djedovic's first three attempt found its way into the basket and this sparked a 10-0 run which allowed the Bavarians to turn the game around and take a five-point lead. Williams finished the strong 20-4 run for the Bavarians with a monster Alley-Oop-Dunk that took the first double-digit lead of the night for the team. In the final minute it was again FCBB record player Djedovic who made things clear with a three.  Final score, 85-75. 

Upcoming games:
- Tue, 30.4., 20:30: FCBB - Bamberg

- So., 5.5., 15:00: Casting - FCBB

- Fri, 10.5., 20:30: FCBB - Ulm

- Sun. 12.5., 18:00: Bonn - FCBB

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- Playoffs 2019: starting Saturday, May 18th

Photo credit: Stickel