Last Wednesday evening in Wuerzburg, Friday in the EuroLeague against Berlin, Sunday in Bamberg and now on Tuesday evening in Ulm - the Bayern basketball team has won four games in seven days. The 81-77 victory on the road at their eventual opponent in the semifinals of the Top Four (17.4.) at the Audi Dome was Bayern's 13th victory 16 BBL games. As a result, head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team remains in the top group of the Bundesliga as desired despite the EuroLeague exertions.        

Ulm was ahead 21-14 after a good start by the visitors and had a 12-0 run of their own (8th), before Bayern took control. Despite losing the rebounding duel (29-43) and getting into early foul trouble, they only allowed two baskets by Ulm's BBL top scorer Osetkowski. On the other hand, the team only turnovers thanks to Diego Flaccadori (6 of 20 assists). The shooting percentages from the line (17 of 19) and from the field (47%) ensured a success despite the tight score. The top scorer was Vladimir Lucic (17).

The FCBB played in Ulm again without the injured Nick Weiler-Babb (foot), Zan Mark Sisko, Robin Amaize and Matej Rudan. Bayern can now take a breather for three days before the weekend brings two more BBL outings: on Friday evening at the Audi Dome against eighth-placed Frankfurt and on Sunday evening at newcomer Chemnitz.

Points per quarter Bayern - Ulm: 21-23, 19-15, 18-16, 23-23.

Sats: Two-point shooting: 53% (FCBB) // 41% (Ulm); Three-point shooting: 36% // 26%; Free-throw shooting: 89% // 96%; Rebounds: 29 // 43; Assists: 20 // 7; Turnovers: 7 // 13.

Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "One game down and on to the next game! They are a good team, have many good shooters and open the court a lot. But we controlled their threes well. But we were lousy at rebounding, which complicated our lives. But when you are very active at the three-point line, you can lose your man in the zone. (...) We had a lot of respect for them. And when you have so many games, every 48 hours, it's always hard. But everyone contributed something to the win. I think given the circumstances, the guys did a great job. Because you can lose games like that, but we made the right decisions. I'm happy for my players - coaches, on the other hand, are only completely satisfied when it's summer, when it's hot outside and free. (...) We fought as a team today, that's how it has to be. When someone is missing, someone else has to step up. And we've managed that since the beginning of the season, sometimes less, sometimes better. We're on a good path, but our performance today won't be enough tomorrow." 

Diego Flaccadori: "This is again a very important victory for us. Because we know they are a good team and we wanted the points for the standings. In the decisive moments we played well especially on defense. We got the important points for this road win." 

Game recap:
Diego Flaccadori, Nihad Djedovic, Paul Zipser, Sasha Grant and Leon Radosevic were the starting five for the FCBB. Bayern set out to finally start a game better than the last few- and the 7-0 start suggested that they might succeed. However, Ulm not only caught up, but pulled ahead with a 12-0 run. Trinchieri took a time-out down seven (21-14/8th). Lucic now stepped in and contributed seven points in a row and Munich was only back two, 23-21 after one quarter.

Both teams struggled offensively but Ulm was more confident in its finishing and pulled away a bit (28-23/14th) until a dunk by Zipser meant a wake-up call - and was the prelude to a 10-0 run (33-28 Bayern/15th). The defense generated great pressure and repeatedly forced turnovers from Ulm though Per Guenther kept his team in the game (33-32/18th). An entertaining two minutes of lively back and forth resulted in a narrow lead at halftime - 40-38.

The starting lineup remained on the bench, with Baldwin, Seeley, Lucic, Zipser and Reynolds getting the start into the second half. The latter was called for his third fould early on but things were going well up front (46-38/24th). Ulm could barely score from the field, but hit from the line to stay within reach (46-44/26th). Threes by Baldwin and Zipser took a six-point lead for Bayern (52-46/27th). Klepeisz hurt FCBB with six points and tied the game at 52-52 (29th). Thanks to Seeley and Flaccadori the visitors led 58-54 heading into the fourth quarter.

The guests remained focused and saw much better success on the defensive boards. However, they now missed opportunities from beyond the three-point line and Ulm stayed close (62-59/34th). On the way to the decisive final phase, Munich mobilized their energy reserves and a 6-0 run led to a 68-59 lead (35th). Flaccadori proved to be a reliable source of momentum, both with baskets of his own and assists (72-63/37th). A little bit of sloppiness fueled Ulm's hopes, and they got to within 72-68 (39th). Lucic hit two free throws (74-68/39th) and 27 seconds before the end Baldwin hit a three-pointer which was a happy relief for a team that did not, this time, need a last-second comeback win.

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Photo credit: Stickel & Langer