The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich successfully defended their position at the top of the BBL table in a top game against the third place Giessen 46ers with a final score of 94-79. They are now 9-0 on the season. In the Audi Dome, the Bavarians had to deal with a strong opponent for most of the game in front of 5,011 spectators, but with a brilliant 27-14 final spurt in the last quarter Bayern held off the surprise team of the league in 2018. Stefan Jovic was back on board after an ankle injury. Six Bavarians scored in double figures, Nihad Djedovic was the top scorer with 17 points and Vladimir Lucic put together a double-double (12 points and 10 rebounds).
After an exhausting week with four games, the Munich team now has a few days off before the next task in the EuroLeague awaits them in Tel Aviv on Thursday, 29.11. (20:05 CET). After the international break, the next home game will take place on Thursday, December 6th at the Audi Dome - opponent is Khimki Moscow at 20:30 CET.
Points per quarter Bayern - Giessen: 21-16, 25-24, 21-25, 27-14.
FCBB Stats: Nihad Djedovic (17 points), Derrick Williams (13), Vladimir Lucic (12/10 rebounds), Devin Booker (12), Petteri Koponen (11), Danilo Barthel (10), Stefan Jovic (7/5 assists), Leon Radosevic (5), Braydon Hobbs (3), Maodo Lo (2), Robin Amaize (2) and Alex King.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "I don't want to talk about this week's schedule today, but only about this game. We started as we wanted and with a good defense we controlled the game. But Giessen is playing well this season, you have to acknowledge that. In the last quarter we did everything we could to win this game. We defended hard and had steals. Congratulations to my team."
46er's coach, Ingo Freyer: "Congratulations to Bayern for their victory. We played a good 32 minutes here on one level, which is incredible. The last seven and a half minutes weren't as good because my players were not mentally strong after some calls from the referees went against us. I can understand that because this is a really noisy hall and it is not easy for the referees either".
1st quarter:
FCBB coach Dejan Radonjic started Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Devin Booker. TThe beginning was rough for both teams and several misses by both the 1st and 3rd placed teams in the BBL and it led to zero points through three minutes. The Munich team found their rhythm and maintained a lead but the 46ers lived up to their reputation of playing fast-paced basketball and stayed with the home favorites. Bayern picked up the pace again towards the end of the first quarter and took a 21:16 lead thanks to Lucic and Booker.
2nd quarter:
Petteri Koponen delighted the crowd with a clever and quickly executed three-pointer which gave the team an eight-point lead. John Bryant, the former Bavarian, brought the visitors close at 26-24 with a few shots from beyond the arc. after three minutes of play in the quarter. Stefan Jovic, whowas fortunately back healthy for the team, aided Robin Amaize with a great assist but the team could not pull away from the upstart club from Giessen . A little later the 46ers took the lead with free throws from Benjamin Lischka but Stefan Jovic answered with a three before Giessen again tied things up at 33-33. Braydon Hobbs was barely on the floor when he forced a turnover and made a nice pass to Booker to retake the lead. The Munich team now played fast and it worked rewarding them with a 46:40 lead at half time.
3rd quarter:
Bayern was hot to start the second half as Lucic and Derrick Williams brought the team it's first double-digit lead at 51-40. Suddenly the flow ended and the 46ers surprised FCBB with a 7-0 run - time-out Bayern. Nihad Djedovic scored from three but Giessen stubbornly stayed neck and neck with the top BBL club. The Munich team made bad decisions and John Bryant made them pay as Giessen took the lead. The Bayern squad picked up their play in the end of the quarter but the visitors held on to keep things tight at 66-64.
4th quarter:
Both teams came out determined on defense but Bayern slowly began to pull away and after three minutes the score was 75-68. Stevan Jovic and Danilo Barthel showed up as leaders at this point of the game and the team was back up by 9. John Bryant stopped the 9-0 run for Bayern but after two quick buckets for Danilo Barthel and Stefan Jovic the guest coach Ingo Freyer was forced to take a time-out time-out. Though Giessen fought like crazy until the end, the quality of the Munich team was too much for them to handle as Bayern continued their perfect 2018 in the BBL with a final score of 94-79.
Upcoming Games:
Thur, 29.11., 20:05: Maccabi Tel Aviv - FCBB (EuroLeague)
Thu., 6.12., 20:30: FCBB - Khimki Moscow (EuroLeague)
Sun, December 9, 18:00: Jena - FCBB (BBL)
Fri, 14.12., 20:30: FCBB - Zalgiris Kaunas (EuroLeague)
Sun., 16.12., 15:00: FCBB - Alba Berlin (BBL)
Wed., 19.12., 20:45: Armani Milan - FCBB (EuroLeague)
Fri, 21.12., 20:00: FCBB - Real Madrid (EuroLeague)
Sun, 23.12., 18:00: FCBB - Alba Berlin (BBL Cup)
Wed., 26.12., 18:00: FCBB - Würzburg (BBL)
Fri, 28.12., 20:30: FCBB - Buducnost Podgorica (EuroLeague)
Sun, 30.12., 20:30: Bamberg - FCBB (BBL)
(Photo-Credit: Rauchensteiner)