The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich won on the eleventh BBL gameday against a fierce underdog opponent thanks to a last-second three and a final score of 82-81. The FCBB thus remains the undefeated leader of the German League - and will end the entire 2019 calendar year without a single home loss in the Bundesliga.
In front of an impressive 5,231 spectators in the Audi Dome, the Munich team had considerable difficulties up even to the last quarter. In a dramatic final phase of the fight, the courageous guests were only defeated by the last shot by the Finnish three-point maestro, Petteri Koponen. Greg Monroe was the top scorer for the German champions with 22 points.
After the first break in weeks, the Bavarians will again have to take part in the EuroLeague on Friday (13.12.): Zenit St. Petersburg will visit the Audi Dome with tip-off at 20:30 CET. The Russian team has three wins so far, one less than the FCBB in the premier class. On Wednesday (December 18th), the Munich team will then compete in the first German EuroLeague Derby against Alba Berlin in the capital city (20:00 CET).
Tickets: FCBB vs. St. Petersburg
Points per quarter Bayern - Goettingen: 14-11, 20-26, 19-23, 29-21.
Facts & Figures - Two-point shooting: 56% (FCBB) // 50% (Göttingen); Three-point shooting: 90% // 48%; Rebounds: 22 // 27; Assists: 17 // 16; Turnovers: 12 // 14. - Injured: TJ Bray (advanced training), Josh Huestis (in training), Nihad Djedovic (advanced training) and Leon Radosevic (ligament injury)
FCBB stats: Greg Monroe (22 points), Paul Zipser (14), Alex King (10), Maodo Lo (10), Danilo Barthel (9), Petteri Koponen (6), Vladimir Lucic (6), Diego Flaccadori (3), DeMarcus Nelson (2), Mathias Lessort and Jacob Knauf (dnp).
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "Congratulations to my colleague, his team played a very good game today. We didn't have enough energy today and were very unfocused on offense as well as on defense. In the last minutes things went a bit better. Before the next game on Friday, we now have a few days to prepare for Zenit St. Petersburg for the first time in a long time. We have to use this time to recover, which is very important for us now. Finally, I have to say thank you today for the great support of our fans, that helped us a lot today".
Johan Roijakkers, Head Coach Göttingen: "Normally I say that in basketball the winner always deserves to win. Today, for the first time in 16 years, I see it differently and say it: I think we deserved to win. We fought great, my team did a great job. We were physically defending and we were very energetic on offense. I have to pay a big compliment to my team, a win today would have been a triple bonus point in the relegation battle. It's these victories that keep you in the league. Nevertheless, I wish Bayern all the best in the EuroLeague and the BBL".
Petteri Koponen: "This time I hit the decisive throw after a great pass from Maodo. Fortunately it went in. That wasn't a good game from us today, Goettingen was better and fought and fought. But in the end we found a way to win. Now we have to go on working because we have to improve further in view of our goals as a team".
1st quarter
The starting five of FCBB coach Radonjic were DeMarcus Nelson, Diego Flaccadori, Vladimir Lucic, Alex King and Monroe. The game began with a novelty: Greg Monroe was not defended at the three-point line and punished the Göttingen side's disregard with his first long-range bucket in a Bayern jersey. The Munich defense did a great job and they scored well under the basket for a quick 7-0 run. They then went four minutes without scoring until a free-throw by FCBB captain Barthel took a 8-5 lead. At the end of an ugly opening quarter the Munich team led 14-11.
2nd quarter
The Bavarians looked for their rhythm but the Lower Saxons took the lead after three minutes of play in the second quarter. The Munich team struggled to rebound and keep the ball and Goettingen's Bennet Hundt sunk his second three to take a five-point lead. Four Monroe points brought the FCBB up to within one but the visitors fought back to the best of their ability. 150 seconds before half time Radonjic took a time-out because his team was back 31-26. With two quick threes Bayern retook the lead and forced a time-out by Goettingen. Another Hundt-three at the buzzer put the Munich team behind 37-34 after two quarters.
3rd quarter
The Bayern fans expected things to turn around but the guests took advantage of every chance they were given. BG playmaker Hundt scored his fourth three and Goettingen took an eight-point lead. Bayern worked their way to only being down by one at 50-49 but a10-4 run by the guests ended the quarter with a 60-53 lead in favor of the underdogs.
4th quarter
Bayern put their faith in their superiority under the basket and increased the pressure on defense. Lo pulled the trigger from deep and shrunk the deficit to two points. Annoying mistakes prevented the change of lead, but momentum was slowly shifting in favor of the home team. With two determined dunks by Lucic, Bayern tied things up at 66 with five minutes to play. In a dramatic final phase, the Munich team proved their nerves at the free-throw line, but the visitors also scored - and led 33 seconds before the end, 79-77. Barthel powered in a basket to again tie the game but then Hundt was fouled and converted both free throws six seconds before the end. Lo grabbed the ball, stormed into the key and pulled three defenders to himself while Koponen stood outside open. The veteran didn't disappoint and drilled a huge three at the buzzer to let Bayern remain undefeated in the BBL.
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Photo credit: Stickel, Rauchensteiner, Eirch, Unal
