The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich lost 82-72 against the reigning champion Real Madrid on the 14th gameday of the EuroLeague. 6,500 spectators in the sold out Audi Dome witnessed a high-class game, in which the Bavarians in the first half were down big but fought back to make it close with a big third quarter. Bayern got to within two points at 68-66 in the fourth quarter but in crunchtime, the experience and class of the Spanish champion prevailed.
Just 45 hours after the game against Madrid, Alba Berlin will visit again in the Audi Dome, this time in a do-or-die fight for a place in the semi-finals of the BBL Cup (Sunday, December 23, 18:00 CET). On the second Christmas day, the South Derby against Würzburg (18:00) will follow, before the last home game of the calendar year will take place against Podgorica in the EuroLeague (Friday, 28.12., 20:30).
Points per quarter Bayern-Madrid: 16-27, 15-19, 28-19, 13-17.
FCBB Stats: Stefan Jovic (11 points/5 assists), Petteri Koponen (10), Nihad Djedovic (10), Danilo Barthel (10/6 rebounds), Leon Radosevic (8), Vladimir Lucic (7), Derrick Williams (7), Maodo Lo (5), Nemanja Dangubic (2), Marvin Ogunsipe (2), Robin Amaize and Alex King (dnp).
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "We played too soft in the first half and showed much too much respect against a defensively strong team from Madrid. Against Real you have to play 40 minutes at the highest level to expect anything. In the second half, however, we showed a lot of character and were about to turn the game around. That was a good fight. But Real's experience didn't allow that. Many thanks to the fans for the great support."
Pablo Lasso, head coach Real Madrid: "Bavaria played with a lot of energy. Our first half was very solid. But I don't think we understood then that Bayern would come back in the second half. In the end, we were smart enough in the decisive moments."
1st quarter
Maodo Lo, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Marvin Ogunsipe were the first five to start against the basketball royalty. The Bavarians had a hard time against the Madrilenians' man defense, but after a few minutes they coped better with the pressure and took the lead for the first time with a successful three from Danilo Barthel. But this didn't last long because Real countered in a masterly manner almost casually with two threes by Sergio Llull to take a 17-13 lead for the visitors. When Anthony Randolph sunk the next three, FCBB took a time-out but it didn't prevent the quite clear 27-16 lead for Real Madrid after the first quarter.
2nd quarter
The second quarter started badly for Bayern and the Spanish team held their double-digit lead after the first three minutes of play. The Germans had a difficult time hitting their shots while Real continued to hit theirs allowing the guests to keep their advantage in the two-digit range and forcing a time-out from Bavaria. A Madrid turnover and dunk by Derrick Williams brought some hope to the home crowd but the Spaniards remeined in control with one minute to play in the half. It was all for nothing though as Rudy Fernandez and Facundo Campazzo hit the eighth and the ninth three-pointers for the royals to take a 46-31 lead at half.
3rd quarter
Munich came out of the locker room with fresh vigour, but after two more quick threes, it seemed almost impossible to complete the comeback. Still, they fought on and chipped away with confidence and Stefan Jovic's nice quarter helped to bring them closer at 58-45. Madrid reacted like a champion and continued to have success with their varied offensive attacks. The Bavarians fought even harder and after six points in a row by Nihad Djedovic, Leon Radosevic brought the score within ten-points with a pair of free-throws. The fans in the Audi Dome were in full throat after a Radosevic dunk andthe Reds had clawed their way back to being down only by six headed to the final quarter, 65-59. .
4th quarter
Anthony Randolph opened the last quarter with a three-pointer, but the Bavarians had also adjusted their scope perfectly from deep as Petteri Koponen countered with the three-pointer of his own. After a tip-in from FCBB captain Danilo Barthel and a jump shot from Koponen, the Munich team was amazingly within two-points of tying the game with a score of 68-66. The Audi Dome was humming and not a fan was still in their seat. The Bavarians repeatedly changed the lead or at least equalized, but against the strong defense of the Spaniards their was never an easy basket. A three by Trey Thompkins stuck a knife into the hopes of the home crowd and required a time-out from Bayern with the score now at 75-68 for Madrid. The Munich squad played desperately but their shots would not drop when they most needed to. Derrick Williams had a nice layup underneath but the most successful team in Europe managed to hold onto their lead and defeat the German upstarts.
(Photo-Credit: Stickel & Rauchensteiner)