Bayern concedes its second defeat in the BBL with a clear 85-72 loss at Alba

The FC Bayern basketball team lost the Bundesliga top game at Alba Berlin 85-72 after a disappointing performance.  In the duel of two teams short of players, Munich was especially weak on defense and lacked its usual commitment and energy, four days after the EuroLeague upset against FC Barcelona (90-77). Head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team lost the connection in the third quarter (17-26) and trailed by as many as 21 points in the final quarter. Berlin got it done with high tempo and more energy as well as intensity. Alba also had to do without Coach Aíto (Conona quarantine). The FCBB was missing Vladimir Lucic as well as Zan Mark Sisko and Robin Amaize (both muscle injuries).  For Bayern, it was the second loss in the ninth BBL game.

The scheduled game on Tuesday in Braunschweig will not take place due to the Corona quarantine of the hosts; in the EuroLeague, they will face Olympiakos Athens next Friday in Greece.

Points per quarter Bayern - Berlin: 12-18, 24-21, 17-26, 19-20.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 44% (FCBB) // 64% (Berlin); Three-point shooting: 40% // 29%; Free-throw shooting: 83% // 71%; Rebounds: 32 // 30; Assists: 18 // 24; Turnovers: 17 // 13.

Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "Congratulations to Alba for a strong game, they deserved the win. That was a shameful game from us, we just weren't there and couldn't do anything right. This is a wake-up call for us, we have to be ready for two games in a row. We had a big game on Wednesday, but today was one of the worst games ever shown by a team in my career. But now it will be very easy to point the finger at someone. I am just as responsible as the players for this performance; we are one team when we play well and one when we play badly. This game is very disappointing and embarrassing because, unlike Berlin, we didn't understand what game this was, Alba versus Bayern."        

Paul Zipser: "That was a game in Berlin, away at Alba - you can't go in there with such low energy. I think we'll learn from it. A game like that might happen, but it shouldn't here."

Game recap:
Bayern started with Baldwin, Seeley, Djedovic, Johnson and Radosevic. On both sides, the absence of several key players was clearly noticeable at the beginning as both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket. For the FCBB, Johnson scored for the first time after just over three minutes to make it 4-2 Berlin. Alba pulled away slightly due to the weak scoring by Munich but the guests equalized at 8-8 (8th). Only the eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter were a positive, but they took advantage of few of these opportunities and were down 18-12 after ten minutes. 

Bayern cut the deficit to 18-16 with the first four points, but they were still unable to take control of the game. A Baldwin three-pointer minimized the deficit to one point, 28-27 (15th). They now seemed to have the momentum on their side, but failed to turn the score in their favor. Berlin again found an answer to the sloppy Bayern team and quickly restored the old lead through a Lo basket (32-27/18th). The Munich team was able to tie it up again through a Djedovic three-pointer (33-33/19th) and at the half Berlin was up 39-36.

After the break, the FCBB started well in the third quarter offensively with a Zipser three-pointer but the Berliners quickly pulled away into a double-digit lead for the first time (51-41/24th). Five quick points by Zipser at the line and via three-pointer provided hope (57-48/27th) but this hope was deceiving as Berlin ended up winning the third quarter clearly, 26-17.

In the final quarter Bayern also failed to put a number of free throws into the basket. Berlin, on the other hand, continuously extended its lead and decided the game early (75-55/34th). The 81-60 score was the highest deficit before Flaccadori and Johnson in particular fought to make it slightly more respectable.

TO THE SCHEDULE

Photo credit: Stickel, Hilse