Bayern ends Ludwigsburg's home winning streak and equalize at 1-1

The Bayern Basketball team ended the Ludwigsburg Giants' home streak of 30 games without a loss and evened the semifinal series at 1-1. After the 82-72 road win, which was deserved thanks to very good shootings and a stout defense, head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team now has two home games at the Audi Dome on Wednesday and Friday (both at 20:30). Game four will again be broadcast in the open-air cinema at Munich's Olympic Lake

Bayern again failed to get off to a focused start on Monday, trailing 13-4, but top scorer D.J. Seeley (22) directed the quick comeback with ten points in the first quarter. Before the break, the visitors' defense dominated, inducing an 18-4 run to make it 37-23 (17th). After halftime, playmaker Zan Mark Sisko, who was  missed in the opener, directed the game in an outstanding manner. 

Points per quarter Bayern - Ludwigsburg: 19-19, 23-14, 21-21, 19-18

Stats: Two-point shooting: 53% (FCBB) // 57% (Ludwigsburg); Three-point shooting: 53% (10 of 19) // 27%; Free throw shooting: 67% // 75%; Rebounds: 32 // 30; Assists: 17 // 9; Turnovers: 19 // 20.

Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "It's 1-1 right now, we're facing a good team, so we have to stay calm. We just came back with an improved defense after a too casual Game 1. We now need to regenerate before the new chapter that starts in 48 hours. Sometimes I feel like the team needs a punch in the face. They hit us hard in the mouth two days ago. But this time we put in a better performance at both ends of the court. (....) So, better, today was better. I just asked my players to fight back. We lost the first game with one last missed three-pointer, but that was not the real picture of this game. Today we were ready, played with concentration, on offense and defense. We play a solid road game against a very good team and controlled it. Again, the word today is: better. With the concentration and the individual performances."

D.J. Seeley: "Our intensity and focus were better today. Ludwigsburg is playing great. But we were a little better adjusted today. We have to stay focused now and stop turning the ball over to win the upcoming game."

John Patrick, head coach Ludwigsburg: "We had too many turnovers. I've also never seen so many airballs from us. Maybe we felt a little bit of pressure. Bayern deserved to win. We couldn't cope with the pressure from Bayern ourselves. I think we're underdogs now and maybe that's better for us. We have to forget everything now. It's a new game in Bayern."

Game recap:
Trinchieri's starting five was made up of Wade Baldwin, Robin Amaize, Vladimir Lucic, JaJuan Johnson and Leon Radosevic. Lucic crashed painfully into a block by Wohlfahrt Bottermann and Baldwin tangled with Jaleen Smith signaling a rough start to the game. As in Game 1, the hosts took advantage of the nerves to get off to a good start (13-4/4th). But Munich was ready for the physicality this time and countered with their own intensity. Seeley completed a 15-6 run with ten quick points to tie the game before the end of the first quarter - 19-19. 

Sisko ordered the attacks and supported Seeley from the three-point line. At the same time, the guests' defense took hold and time and again, a hand was in the MHP Giants' passing lanes. In the first half alone, Trinchieri's team forced 14 Ludwigsburg turnovers (32-23/15th). Lucic, Zipser and Reynolds benefited from the resulting fastbreaks. A dominant second quarter resulted in a nine-point lead for Bayern at the half (42-33).

The Munich team stayed awake in the second half as well. Lucic opened with a three-pointer and then blocked Polas-Bartolo with his fingertips. Reynolds'  layup was the following answer to the Giants' efforts to reduce the deficit and the FCBB held a double-digit lead (56-46/25th). Neither team could gain an advantage in an even third quarter but Bayern held the lead (63-54).

The question about who would start better in the final quarter was answered after about a minute as Seeley scored at will and increased the lead to 14 points with the help of Reynolds (68-54). But Ludwigsburg's top scorer Radebaugh had something to say against calling it a night early. He took the offense on his shoulders and again reduced the lead to eight points.  But Bayern fought back and hit difficult shots via Zipser and Lucic (78-67/36th). The hosts now began to run out of time and a stifling Munich defense snuffed out the last hopes of a comeback.

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Photo credit: Stickel, Keppler