Despite trailing by eight points with just a few minutes to go, the FC Bayern basketball team put on a show of strength to defeat the Niners Chemnitz 77-76. The strong upstart team took the lead after a balanced first half with a 19-3 run and led 70-62 four and a half minutes before the end, but Nick Weiler-Babb's three-pointer and in crunch time Paul Zipser's five points pushed the exhausted team over the edge for the win.

Just 41 hours after the EuroLeague drama in Greece at Olympiakos Piraeus (84-82 loss), head coach Andrea Trinchieri had to do without a quintet, because in addition to Zan Mark Sisko and Robin Amaize, Nihad Djedovic, James Gist and D.J. Seeley were also injured and not fit for action. Vladimir Lucic fortunately made his comeback after a five-week injury layoff. Weiler-Babb stood out with 19 points and eleven rebounds. The FCBB's BBL record is now 8-2.

The FCBB now have three tough home games in five days ahead of them: on Wednesday (Jan. 13, 19:30), they host fourth-place team Zenit St. Petersburg in the EuroLeague at the Audi Dome. On Friday (Jan. 15, 20:30), they host third-place Real Madrid and on Sunday afternoon (Jan. 17, 15:00), they face BBL surprise team, the Hamburg Towers.

Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "It was the game we expected. Chemnitz has played well in the last few games. We were under pressure and we were missing five players. We played well in the first half but were not able to bring the same effort for the next 15 minutes. Chemnitz is a talented team, they can score and came back with a very good run. The good thing is that we didn't give up and found a way to win the game."

Vladimir Lucic: "I feel good again, but I'm a bit out of rhythm; but I hope to be back to full speed soon. For us today it was just important to win the game. It showed again the character and the great will of this team to fight until the end. Now we have to regenerate quickly and prepare for the next game in the EuroLeague."

Points per quarter Bayern - Chemnitz: 26-17, 1316, 18-24, 20-19.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 47% (FCBB) // 37% (Chemnitz); Three-point shooting: 33% // 44%; Free-throw shooting: 89% // 81%; Rebounds: 42 // 33; Assists: 19 // 15; Turnovers: 14 // 11.

Game recap:
Coach Trinchieri started Diego Flaccadori, Nick Weiler-Babb, Vladimir Lucic, JaJuan Johnson and Leon Radosevic against the upstart Chemnitz squad. Both teams committed three turnovers each in the early stages. Returnee Vladimir Lucic hit his first shot right away followed by Weiler-Babb Sasha Grant sinking threes (13-6/6th). Jalen Reynolds provided fresh power off the bench and droved twice to the basket for four points (20-14/8th). Youngster Jason George shined after a brisk series of passes by dunking (24-17/9th). After the first quarter, Bayern led 26-17.

The guests quickly scored four points to start the second - time-out Bayern (26-21/12th). Munich relied too much on one-on-one play but at least the defense did its job to keep them in the lead. After more than three minutes, Johnson scored the first FCBB basket of the second quarter (28-21/14th). Three Lucic free throws led to the first double-digit lead (31-21/15th), which soon grew to 36-23. However, the recently promoted team did not give up, stayed feisty and annoyed FCBB with an 8-0 run, which only Sasha Grant stopped with a three-point play (39-31).

The Niners naturally looked fresher and took the lead after halftime with three Wimberg threes (42-39/23rd). Weiler-Babb was finally able to hit a bucket after more than three minutes of play but Chemnitz was now confident and irritated the FCBB with a zone defense. Deep threes are an effective means against this and a Flaccadori three-pointer tied the game at 53 (29th). After a contested third quarter, the score was tied 57-57.

The guests started the final quarter with a 7-0 run and seven minutes before the end it was 64-57 in favor of Chemnitz. Weiler-Babb scored from beyond the three-point line but at 70-62(35th) the unpleasant upset seemed to be in sight. But Weiler-Babb stayed strong, sinking his third three-pointer of the quarter. Zipser showed nerves of steel and took the lead back with a three-pointer (75-74/39th) - Chemnitz' Lawson countered to take the lead with 39 seconds left. Both teams failed with their next possessions before Zipser was fouled with 2.8 seconds left and scored twice confidently from the line (77-76). Chemnitz was unable to get a shot off at the buzzer.

TO THE SCHEDULE

Photo credit: Eirich, Rauchensteiner, Gamel