The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich suffered another road loss in the EuroLeague: 77-55 (26:41) against Israeli title holder Maccabi Tel Aviv. Their record in the EuroLeague is now 4-8. In front of 10,389 noisy spectators, Bayern fell behind by double-digits after a decent start to the game. They then fought their way to within six points in the third quarter with a 16-0 run (47:53). But a total of 19 turnovers and ten offensive rebounds by the hosts (FCBB: four) were decisive for the weak score.
The FCBB had to do without Leon Radosevic as well as the TJ Bray, Josh Huestis and Nihad Djedovic. The center landed badly on the ground during final training session in Munich and is expected to miss about ten days.
The Bundesliga continues now where FC Bayern is still the undefeated leader in the standings. On Sunday (8.12.) they will play against BG Goettingen starting at 15:00 CET. The next game will be on Friday (1.12.,20:30) at home against Zenit St. Petersburg from Russia - the next chance to win the EuroLeague exists.
Points per quarter Bayern - Tel Aviv: 18-22, 8-19, 21-12, 8-24.
Facts & Figures - Two-point shooting: 42.9% (FCBB) // 50% (Tel Aviv); Three-point shooting: 21.1% // 31.8%; Rebounds: 30 // 35; Assists: 10 // 12; Ball losses: 19 // 9. - Injured: TJ Bray (advanced training), Josh Huestis (in training), Nihad Djedovic (individual training) and Leon Radosevic (ankle ligament injury).
FCBB stats: Petteri Koponen (10 points), Vladimir Lucic (10), Greg Monroe (8/6 rebounds), Mathias Lessort (8/5 rebounds), Danilo Barthel (6/6 rebounds), Maodo Lo (5), Paul Zipser (4), DeMarcus Nelson (4), Alex King, Diego Flaccadori and Sasha Grant (dnp).
Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Dejan Radonjic: "That was a good game from Maccabi. We started concentrated, but at the beginning of the second quarter we suffered too many turnovers due to theirexcellent physical defense. We came back strong in the third quarter, but that's not enough here. Especially if you have 19 turnovers against a team like Maccabi. We now hope that we will have one or two injured players back in the next games."
Petteri Koponen: "We really tried to fight and came back in the third quarter. But in the last five minutes, we had too many turnovers and we let the game get away. Maccabi have had a strong season, they are a good team. We have to improve ourselves. We're not playing the way we could. We have to work in training now to improve as a team. That's the only way. There are no easy games in the EuroLeague. We have to find a way to stay competitive and try to win again."
1st quarter
The FCBB started with Maodo Lo, Petteri Koponen, Vladimir Lucic, Danilo Barthel and Mathias Lessort. After four fast points by Tarik Black Bayern got into the game and quickly had the best moment of the game for the Germans with great plays on both sides of the court. The hosts then went on an 8-0 run which was interrupted only three minutes before the first quarter break by Captain Barthel to bring the score to 17-13 in favor of Tel Aviv. The first ten minutes ended with a score of 22-18 with the hosts in the lead.
2nd quarter
The German champion was not able to follow up on the concentrated performance and, above all, gave up far too many turnovers - three in the first two minutes alone. Othello Hunter and Scottie Wilbekin brought the Israelis a double-digit lead for the first time at 31-18 with six minutes to play in the half. Except for two more points from the Lessort field and a total of six free throws Bayern seemingly did not want to succeed much before the break. Tel Aviv went took a big 41-26 lead into the locker room primarily due to eight turnovers - five of them in the second quarter.
3rd quarter
The fact that squad from Munich can present more effective and stirring basketball was proven after the break and though Maccabi first managed an 8-0 run to take a clear 51-28 lead, Bayern then started on an incredible 19-2 which brought them quickly back to only six points behind the hosts.
4th quarter
Maccabi shook off the uncertainty right at the beginning of the quarter with yet another turnover by Munich. This advantage was continuously extended and the it was obvious that the Germans would not leave the court as winners. Only Lucic was able to score points again from the free-throw line and Tel Aviv was otherwise completely dominant.
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Photo credit: Stickel, Magriso/Euroleague
