The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich celebrated their first away win of the season in the EuroLeague with a 89-74 victory over Gran Canaria. In front of 3,872 spectators, FCBB won a tight game thanks to a strong final quarter, including a 16-0 run and were rewarded after an exhausting week. The Bavarians also defied the difficult circumstances, with water dripping from the ceiling of the hall to the floor as they warmed up.
An outstanding Maodo Lo (22 points/5 assists) stood out along with a good team performance (11/23 from three), as did Devin Booker with a double double (10/11 rebounds) and Derrick Williams, who was strong in the first quarter. Stefan Jovic could not yet be used due to his ankle injury and Vladimir Lucic played despite a gastrointestinal infection. Bayern is now 4-5 in the EuroLeague.
The next test for the FCBB is scheduled for Sunday, November 25th at 18:00 in the Audi Dome. Followed up by Giessen 46ers in the Bundesliga.
Points per quarter Bayern - Gran Canaria: 21-17, 25-25, 15-20, 28-12.
FCBB Stats: Maodo Lo (22 points/5 assists), Derrick Williams (20), Vladimir Lucic (11/5 rebounds), Petteri Koponen (11/5 ass.), Devin Booker (10/11 rebounds), Leon Radosevic (6), Danilo Barthel (4), Nemanja Dangubic (2), Braydon Hobbs, Alex King (dnp), Robin Amaize (dnp).
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "In the beginning we played well. Then we had problems with transition defense and boxing out under the basket. In the third quarter we offensively lost the thread and control of the game but our answer in the final quarter was good, because we showed good defense and controlled offense. Congratulations to the team, the circumstances were not easy for us. I hope we'll have all the players at our disposal for the next game."
Maodo Lo: "Great victory! It's always hard to win away in the EuroLeague. They came back well in the second half but we found an answer. It's very important to have found our way back to the winning road after the two home defeats."
1st quarter:
Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Devin Booker tried at the beginning to lay the foundation for the desired first road win in the EuroLeague. Maodo Lo distinguished himself at the beginning with his speed as a Munich asset and dominated with six points in the opening minutes. In addition to scoring, Lo also assisted Derrick Williams, who also followed with six fast points and brought a lead of 14-9. The visitors from Munich were always in the lead but despite the opportunities to further distance themselves a small lack of concentration in the offensive prevented a larger lead, 21-17.
2nd quarter:
The second quarter started suboptimally for Bayern: Two turnovers and a third foul on Danilo Barthel caused the lead to drop to two points. Petteri Koponen put an end to the short hangover with his second three. Leon Radosevic added a jump shot and Derrick Williams scored from outside with two straight shots and stretched the lead at 36-25. A time-out by the hosts was followed by small run that brought Gran Canaria back within reach. Once again it was the duo of Koponen/Williams who brought FCBB back on track with a three and a dunk. Although Bayern had the dominant player in Derrick Williams (18 points), the led in nearly every offensive stat, they held only a small lead at 46-42.
3rd quarter:
Exactly four minutes into quarter three, Derrick Williams got things back on track with a huge dunk. This bucket took the lead back for Bayern at 54-52. Gran Canaria was still able to score some easy buckets and tied things up with three minutes to play in the third quarter. The Germans lost more and more focus, continued to struggle scoring and before the final quarter they had lost the lead and were down one with a socre of 62-61.
4th quarter:
A huge Alley-Oop by Devin Booker on pass by Petteri Koponen gave hope for a strong final spurt for the guests. It remained a tight game, in which now both teams had offensively more rhythm but Bayern slowly started to pull away. Maodo Lo took further responsibility and extended his perfect night (10/10 from the field). The Germans finally started to hit their shots and with a few minutes left in the game the win was secured by the visiting team. At the buzzer the final score was 89 for Bayern and 74 for Gran Canaria.
Upcoming games:
Sun., 25.11., 18:00: FCBB - Gießen (BBL)
Thu, 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)
Sunday, 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)
Sunday, 30.12., 20:30: Bamberg - FCBB (BBL)
(photo-Credit: Stickel)
