Injury weakened Bayers loses big at Baskonia
FC Bayern's basketball team lost to Real Madrid with a final score of 93-60 against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz just 48 hours after their surprise win over Real Madrid. In front of 10,758 spectators in the hall of last year's Final Four, the German champions clearly lacked the necessary energy against a physically strong opponent (21-42 rebounds), who also scored eight of twelve threes in the first half. Greg Monroe with 18 points was the top scorer for Munich who were also missing Nihad Djedovic.
Like Baskonia, the Bavarians are now 3-3 and they have no games in the Bundesliga this weekend and will be back in the EuroLeague next Friday (8.11., 18:45 CET) against the crisis-ridden star ensemble of Fenerbahce Istanbul. The next home games in the EuroLeague will follow in "Greek Week" on the 19th and 22nd of November against the Greek heavyweights Olympiakos Piraeus and Panathinaikos Athens.
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Points per quarter Bayern - Baskonia: 10-29, 19-23, 18-14, 13-27.
Facts & Figures - Two-point shooting: 40% (FCBB) // 53% (Baskonia); Three-point shooting: 33% // 54%; Rebounds: 21 // 42; Assists: 9 // 15; Turnovers: 10 // 14. - It was missing: Nihad Djedovic (irritation in the knee), TJ Bray (foot surgery), Josh Huestis, Mathias Lessort (foot, ligaments).
FCBB stats: Greg Monroe (18 points), Maodo Lo (12), Paul Zipser (7/8 rebounds), Danilo Barthel (7), DeMarcus Nelson (4), Vladimir Lucic (4), Leon Radosevic (4), Petteri Koponen (3), Diego Flaccadori (1), Alex King.
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "After the first minutes it was already clear that Baskonia would probably win. Our first half giving up 52 points to them was extremely bad. The opponent played 40 minutes with much more energy and very physically. We have to analyse this first week of double play. Baskonia had one more day to prepare and with Djedovic out we missed four players today. But Baskonia also played better."
Maodo Lo: "We played very badly, we are disappointed. But we fought after the weak first half and tried to defend ourselves against all further resistance here. But it wasn't easy. We have to get up now."
1st quarter
FCBB coach Radonjic started the second EuroLeague away game with DeMarcus Nelson, Paul Zipser, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Greg Monroe. Zipser slipped into the first five for the battered Nihad Djedovic. The Bavarians found started well and were able to take the lead for the only time in the entire game (6:5/3rd minute of play) thanks to two successful finishes for Monroe but then the guest lost all momentum and conceded a 13-0 run. Tornike Shengelia proved to be the biggest problem as the center contributed 13 points in the first quarter alone and hit both of his three-point attempts. Co-Captain Lucic finished the negative run of the visitors with a nice passfake and subsequent dunk but the Bavarians still did not find their rhythm and had five turnovers in the first ten minutes which was a large part of a 29-10 deficit after one quarter of play.
2nd quarter
The Bavarians, through Maodo Lo, finally scored their first three, and Monroe added a hard earned basket but missed the free throw. The rebellion did not last long and Baskonia for the first time took a 20-point lead at 40-17. Bayern wasn't able to gain any ground in the second quarter largely due to poor shooting from beyond the arc (1/7 in the first half) and because the rebound superiority of the much larger Baskonians (22-10). Thus Vitoria-Gasteiz had a clear 52-29 lead at halftime.
3rd quarter
Petteri Koponen, Paul Zipser and two Lo started a 12-0 run exclusively with threes to bring the score to a more respectable 57-43 mark. The chance for a tighter game was missed in this phase with some bad shots. The FCBB won this quarter, but Baskonia was still clearly ahead by 19 points.
4th quarter
The strength of the Munich team diminished, which is why the host made the final decision early. The last quarter was marked by fouls and stoppages which meant that there was no more flow to the game. The Bavarians had to earn all points on the free-throw line with the exception of a successful three by Barthel and the last points of the game by Monroe. At the end the hosts won clearly, 93-60.
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Photo credit: Stickel, Arrizabalaga/Euroleague