The FC Bayern Munich basketball team defeated the Skyliners in Frankfurt in the second game of the BBL season after a big second half, 75-52. Coach Andrea Trinchieri's team had problems with focus, energy levels and shooting after having to play just 48 hours following their EuroLeague victory over Valencia (90-79). They were up to ten points behind (4-14) early. After the break, things looked quite different, especially on defense: The second 20 minutes were won 47-18 and in the last quarter the guests only allowed six points and dominated the boards (45-30). With 24 points, Paul Zipser was the top Bayern scorer, a BBL best for the national team player. Vladimir Lucic, Jalen Reynolds and TJ Bray all did not play.

The FCBB now have three more games until next Sunday: on Monday they will travel from Frankfurt to the EuroLeague duel at Efes Istanbul, the outstanding team of the previous season; after the return trip on Wednesday, ZSKA Moscow will visit the Audi Dome and on Sunday the Final10 duel against Ludwigsburg, who has also won their first two BBL games.

Points per quarter Bayern - Frankfurt: 11-19, 17-15, 26-12, 21-6.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 54% (FCBB) // 41% (Frankfurt); Three-point shooting: 22% // 21%; Free throw shooting: 79% // 67%; Rebounds: 45 // 31; Assists: 16 // 6; Turnovers: 12 // 15.

Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "These Sunday games will always be the same: The opponent can prepare for us for a week while we come out of a game on Friday evening. You have to be patient and not get nervous if you have a slow start - and we were very slow today at the beginning. But we found the way to win the game in the second half and that's what it's all about. We distributed the minutes well and played with the whole bench. We were patient and defended much better in the second half. Now we are moving on after a very professional day of work." 

Paul Zipser: "The first half was difficult, we didn't get enough energy on the court in front and back. But then the coach addressed the right things in the break; we went into the second half with more power and focus, which was much more fun. Away games in the BBL are always very difficult even without spectators, but if we go in from the beginning with the necessary attitude in the future, we might be able to finish off the game earlier".

Game recap:
Wade Baldwin, Nihad Djedovic, Nick Weiler-Babb, JaJuan Johnson and Leon Radosevic formed the starting five for FCBB coach Andrea Trinchieri. The hosts defended with great dedication and prevented Bayern from finishing. After four minutes, Trinchieri took a time-out down 8-0. JaJuan Johnson finally scored the first goal for the Bavarians (8-2/5th). The Munich team found it extremely difficult to find their rhythm - both on offense and on defense. They gained some stability through tightening the screws on defense and this helped things improve at the other end of the court. The score after the first, rather sleepy quarter was 19-11, Frankfurt

The shooting percentage of the Frankfurters matched that of Bayern however, as the Skyliners didn't hit anything either. Paul Spišser's three after two minutes in the second half was the first goal of the game from beyond the arc (19-14 Frankfurt/12th) The FCBB was very good on the offensive boards and earned several second chance shot, allowing them to sneak to within three at 21-18. Of course, the Frankfurters did not want to let the lead be snatched away so easily and fought tooth and nail - the miserable shooting by Bayern did the rest and the hosts clung to a 28-24 lead. Two threes by Bruno Vrcic who is originally from th FCBB youth, hurt the Bayern and the Skyliners continued to lead after the second quarter, 34-28.

Paul Zipser continued his strong performance from the win against Valencia and scored two goals and a little later he put his team in the lead for the first time from the free-throw line (37-36/24th). The Munich team took control of the game at this point thanks to strong defense and improved shooting. Konga kept the hosts in the game with three (50-46/29th), but the FCBB lead was unshakable - 54-46.

Zipser also shone defensively with a perfectly timed block, followed by Johnson taking a double-digit lead (56-46/32nd). Bayern now defended with a touch of EuroLeague toughness and, led by the outstanding Paul Zipser, pulled away (60-46/33rd). The FCBB went on a 14-0 run across while the Frankfurters scored their first goal in the final quarter only after seven minutes. The game got ugly in the end but the Munich team was able to live with it and took a clear victory.

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Photo Credit: Julian Reckmann