Bayern defies all odds and beats Hamburg 85-71

The FC Bayern basketball players have brought a grueling week with three games in five days and plenty of injuries to a good conclusion: Only 40 hours after the painful overtime defeat against Real Madrid, the Munich emergency squad held its own against the Hamburg Towers,  in a commanding 85-71 home victory. The FCBB had to do without Nihad Djedovic, Wade Baldwin, Zan Mark Sisko, Vladimir Lucic and Robin Amaize, in addition, assistant Adriano Vertemati represented FCBB head coach Andrea Trinchieri, who was absent at short notice for family reasons. Nevertheless, the ninth win in the eleventh Bundesliga outing was never in jeopardy. D.J. Seeley and Jalen Reynolds were the top scorers with 15 points each.

The Munich team thus earned a Monday off from practice, after which they will begin preparing for the tough EuroLeague road game on Thursday (Jan. 21, 20:45) at Italian Serie A leader and Final Four contender Milan. The BBL Southern rivalry game in Bayreuth follows on Saturday evening.

Points per quarter Bayern - Hamburg: 21-19, 27-18, 16-17, 21-17.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 64% (FCBB) // 40% (Hamburg); Three-point shooting: 38% // 41%; Free-throw shooting: 71% // 91%; Rebounds: 28 // 34; Assists: 18 // 17; Turnovers: 11 // 14.

Quotes:
Adriano Vertemati: "The praise belongs to the players. They executed the gameplan perfectly. It was not easy. On the one hand because Hamburg is a very good team, on the other hand we were missing five players, five players from the perimeter. So we played with three guards and we were in the game and focused from the beginning. Congratulations again to the players."

Hamburg head coach, Pedro Calles: "Congratulations to Bayern. They executed their gameplan very solidly. One of the things was the post-up play. We couldn't stop that aspect of the game. Also, whenever we earned a run, we made too many mistakes, which allowed them to score easy baskets. We fought until the end, but in the end Bayern did a good job of taking advantage, which is why we didn't have a chance to win in the end."

Jalen Reynolds: "We were perfectly prepared by our excellent coaching staff, so we were ready for the game. We stuck together great against the strong Hamburg team. Now we will recharge our batteries. It won't be easy away in Milan, but we're looking forward to it. Even without Coach Trinchieri, it wasn't such a big difference today because we know what he expects from us and his spirit is always here with us."

Game recap:
Diego Flaccadori, D.J. Seeley, Paul Zipser, JaJuan Johnson and Leon Radosevic made up the starting lineup for the FCBB. The Towers went ahead early but Bayern looked for and took advantage of their physical advantages. A 5-0 run by Johnson and Zipser was the result (5-2/2nd minute of play). Hamburg sought their salvation with a high-pressure defense and fast offense to benefit from FCBB's fatigue. The guarantor for the constant lead was the reliable defense of Bayern, which made it as difficult as possible for the guests. Up front, Paul Zipser hit a three-pointer to make it 12-8 (7th) and finally after quarter number one, Munich led 21-19.

Nick Weiler-Babb scored five points in a row, time-out Hamburg (26-19/12th). Munich played smart offensively and increased the lead, Radosevic after a foul hit from the free throw line to increase the lead to seven (31-24/14th). Johnson could not be prevented from scoring even by a foul as he he took the first double-digit lead from the charity stripe (34-24/14th). After missed shots by the Munich team, the Towers went on their own 5-0 run, timeout FCBB (36-31/17th). The meeting stabilized Bayern who pulled away again to 44-35 (19th). At halftime, the favorite did not show any weakness and went into the dressing room with a nice lead - 48-37.

The Towers' plan to increase the pressure through press defense was thwarted by the Munich squad through clever ball movement. The home side pulled away to 53-37 (24th). Flaccadori did served Radosevic with a great pass and the lead was sixteen (55-39/25th). The FCBB did an excellent job of not letting Hamburg dictate the tempo and successfully kept their opponents at bay - 64-54 after the third quarter.

Seeley used his physical superiority against Hamburg and started the last quarter with five points andwas a big part of a 7-0 run to start the quarter (71-54/32nd). Vertemati was alert and immediately took the timeout after a short comeback by Hamburg (73-60/34th). Flaccadori stopped a 7-0 run of the guests with a jump shot but the Hamburgers tried with all their might, but with no luck. In the attack, the FCBB suddenly slowed a bit and thus helped the guests to a get back within single digits (76-67/39th). Bayern however, managed to hold on for the victory.

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Photo credit: Rauchensteiner, Gamel