Bayern heads to playoffs as fourth-place team will face Crailsheim or Oldenburg

The Bayern Basketball team lost their last game of the BBL regular season against first-place Ludwigsburg, 91-77. Thus, the team of head coach Andrea Trinchieri ends the regular with a 48-20 points record and in fourth place. The Munich team will go into the playoffs with home-court advantage in the first round against either Crailsheim (also 48-20) or Oldenburg (48-18); the Lower Saxons would still avoid the duel with the FCBB if they win their make-up game on Tuesday (19:00) against Goettingen.

The FCBB were without a handful of regulars on Sunday, as they were in their win in Goettingen and their clear loss against Ulm; in view of the heavy workloads of the last few weeks and considering the BBL highlights coming up with the Top Four for the Cup in the Audi Dome (May 15/16) and the start of the playoffs (from May 19 in a two-day rhythm), Trinchieri had to give his starters a break. In addition, the two guards Nihad Djedovic and Nick Weiler-Babb are still injured.

In Ludwigsburg, Baldwin and Lucic again took a break, as did veteran Gist, while FCBB youngsters Ersek, George and Rudan were back on the court. The guests missed their first seven threes in the first quarter (24-12), but won the third quarter and the second half with much better play (64-57/29th).

After a practice-free start to the week, the Munich team will begin preparations for the Cup tournament. They will meet Ulm again in the semifinals on Saturday (16:00). All games of the Top Four will be available on MagentaSport as an open offer (without subscription).

Points per quarter Bayern - Ludwigsburg: 12-24, 21-26, 25-17, 19-24

Stats: Two-point shooting: 52% (FCBB) // 56% (Ludwigsburg); Three-point shooting: 14% // 43%; Free-throw shooting: 82% // 86%; Rebounds: 43 // 32; Assists: 19 // 20; Turnovers: 15//14.

Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "Congratulations to Ludwigsburg, not for this game but for the whole season. They deserved to be first going into the playoffs, they have been very consistent and are a team that can really win the Bundesliga. They have a good mix of experience and freshness. There is not much to say about the game today. We are trying to recover after the EuroLeague season; we have players with flat tires, not physically at all, more mentally and emotionally. Now the regular season is over and we have the cup next weekend, then the playoffs. I think Ludwigsburg and Alba have shown the best basketball this season and we are now trying to find a good balance again for the last part of the season."

Paul Zipser: "No player wants to lose a game, no matter where and when, that's in the nature of every professional athlete. Ludwigsburg was simply better today. But we go into the playoffs with a good feeling, even though it might not have looked that way the last two games. We just had a lot to do before that and there were maybe a few things today that we were looking at more. Now we want to try and get the title in the cup at all costs. We have a week now where we can train well and prepare."     

Jalen Reynolds: "We lacked energy and away games in Ludwigsburg are always very difficult, they are a strong team and were better in the game and more focused than us today. Of course, after Milan it's hard to find the rhythm in the BBL again. We have to play with more passion again and more courageously from start to finish. We will definitely improve again for the Top Four."

Game recap:
Diego Flaccadori, D.J. Seeley, Robin Amaize, JaJuan Johnson and Leon Radosevic started the game in Ludwigsburg. The hosts had the better start and could rely directly on center Jamel McLean, who scored 13 points in the first quarter (14-4/4th). Bayern had their chance with open shots but hit none of their first seven attempts, including from the three-point line. Only David Kramer ended the lull and initiated a 6-0 run. But the regular season winner kept the intensity high - 24-12 at the end of the first quarter.

In the second ten minutes, Ludwigsburg stayed in the rhythm the Munich team was looking for. JaJuan Johnson kept winning under the basket against the aggressive defense but Ludwigsburg maintained a double-digit lead (36-20/15th). John Patrick's team, on the other hand, fired successfully from the field and thus did not allow the guests to catch up. A 17-point deficit at halftime was the result (50-33).

Trinchieri's team came out of the locker room with more energy and was led by Reynolds, who used his physicality in the zone against the smaller lineup of the hosts (15 points in the third quarter). With Zan Mark Sisko, the big man again cut the deficit to ten points (62-52/27th). Thanks to a strong defense, the third quarter went to the Munich team with a score of 25-17 (67-58 Ludwigsburg).

The final quarter started with a damper for the guests, who gave up another 6-0 run. Similar to the beginning of the game, only a few of their shots fell, while the league leader managed to drop even the most difficult of shots via top scorer Jordan Hulls (79-61/34th). Flaccadori, Amaize and George again reduced the deficit to eleven points, but could no longer prevent the home victory for Ludwigsburg (91-77).

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Photo credit: Britsch, Stickel