The FCBB come from behind 21 points to win 75-71

FC Bayern's basketball team have managed a huge win just two days after their furious road win in Tel Aviv (85-82): Head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team won for the first time in the club's history against Turkish co-favorites Fenerbahce Istanbul. Through a fabulous chase to catch up, the guests eliminated a seemingly unassailable 21-point deficit (18-39/17.) in the second half and actually triumphed 75-71. Bayern boldly fought Fener down after the break, bringing in 27 rebounds in the second half alone and giving up only 26 points to the Turks. With this memorable comeback success, the FCBB is now, after four games against consistently top-class opponents, 3-1 in the Euroleague.

Vladimir Lucic (18 points) and Jalen Reynolds (17 points/8 rebounds) took the lead on Friday evening; even top stars Nando De Colo (18 points) and Jan Vesely (25) could not prevent the dramatic final quarter from going to Munich with a 27-13 run. In the end, it was once again co-captain Lucic who kept his nerves at the free-throw line and sent the Munich squad home with a smile.

The FCBB will travel directly to Leipzig on Saturday. Less than 48 hours after this EuroLeague highlight, the team will be challenged in Weissenfels for their first game in the BBL Cup qualifier against Bayreuth (Sunday, 18:00).

Points per quarter Bayern-Fenerbahce: 9-28, 16-17, 23-13, 27-13

Stats - Two-point shooting: 53 % (FCBB) // 56 % (Istanbul); three-point shooting: 24 % // 33%; free-throw shooting: 88% // 83%; Rebounds: 40 //27; Assists: 16 // 23; Turnovers: 13 // 14. 

Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "A week with two games in the EuroLeague is strange in itself, but a double play week with away games in Tel Aviv and Istanbul is super-weird. It can happen that your team looks drunk. And we looked drunk in the first half. In the first half we played very badly, it was embarrassing. I knew that we could not be that as a team. But we tried to get back to our DNA and it's called defense, defense defense, defense. And we did that. The good thing about the team I coach is that it has a soul. I try to reduce their mistakes, but I'm not very successful at that. But my team teaches me what is most important: never give up, play with heart, play hard, dive for the ball and play as a team. This has allowed us to win an incredible game, trailing 20 points and then coming back to beat Fenerbahce. They are a Final Four team, so this win tastes very sweet. Because it allows me to keep pushing my team to become even better. The win is incredible, I'm happy for my players."                              

Jalen Reynolds: "We improved a lot in the second half. We stayed together, that's what makes us so strong. I knew very well that I had to bring a lot of energy and give everything to win. The coach gave us an incredible amount of energy. We all stand together and follow him 100 percent."

Vladimir Lucic: "It's a great feeling to win two such road games. We had a weak start, but then we found our game. We have always believed in ourselves. But we train really hard every day. We know exactly what we want and that is to work on ourselves and get better every day."

Game recap: 
As announced after the game in Tel Aviv, Trinchieri rotated his starting squad and brought JaJuan Johnson and Malcom Thomas in for Nick Weiler-Babb and Leon Radosevic. Fenerbahce tried to defend aggressively from the beginning and brought Center Vesely into the game - which led to three early fouls and four ball losses for the Germans (11-3 Fenerbahce/4.). Especially defensively the freshness was missing against a physically strong host. Bayern's shooting was not good and they fell behind 29-8 after the first quarter. 

In the second quarter Bayern looked more their normal selves. Jalen Reynolds brought a lot of energy from the bench and completed a 7-2 run with a monster dunk to take the score to 31-16 with seven to play in the half. But Fener did not let this put them off their stride and kept a steady lead, especially by driving to the basket with De Colo. The Munich team consistently headed to the free-throw line but did not hit enough from the three (3 of 16)so they entered halftime with a 20-point deficit, 45-25.

The second half began with a run by the Munich team as both Reynolds and Lucic forcefully stuffed two offensively rebounded balls into the basket and shortened the gap to 13 points. There was clearly a shift in momentum and in addition to the now gripping defense, Zan Mark Sisko (11 points/4 assists) began to consistently hit from deep. With the end of the siren Radosevic finished a strong quarter that saw a ten-point deficit at 58-48.

The furious final quarter began with a dominant Reynolds, who immediately followed a three-point play with a put-back-dunk (58-53). Again it was only De Colo and Vesely who countered for the Turks but Trinchieri's team now chased the opponent hard and managed numerous offensive rebounds (13:3) to finally take the lead with five minutes to play. Top scorer Vesely tied things up with 70 seconds left. That was the moment for Wade Baldwin who drilled a jumpshot to take the lead, before an unsportsmanlike foul gave Lucic a chance at the line to puts things away with ten seconds left. A triple from De Colo once again created suspense but Lucic remained ice-cold from the free-throw line and completed the magnificent comeback win.

Photo Credit: Burak Saltik