On the twelfth EuroLeague gameday, the FC Bayern basketball team celebrated its eighth victory in a thrilling duel against Khimki Moscow. Thanks to a magnificent display of fighting spirit the team around head coach Andrea Trinchieri won 80-77 (43:40) after coming back from 15 points behind. Khimki around superstar Alexey Shved (20 points) and Greg Monroe (18) played with a healthy team for the first time this season, and former Munich Devin Booker (9) and Stefan Jovic (6) also made an appearance against their former squad. In the Bayern line-up, the ailing Vladimir Lucic and Nihad Djedovic did not play, while D.J. Seeley and James Gist have not yet been officially signed. Nevertheless, the FCBB found a way to an important victory in the end. The hosts only lost eight turnovers in total and rebounded well when it mattered most. National player Paul Zipser (18 points, 16 before the break) stood out this time alongside Wade Baldwin (19). Nick Weiler-Babb scored the last four points from the free-throw line.

There is no time for the Bavarians to take a breather: On Sunday against Goettingen (6 December, 20:00) and on Tuesday at the MBC in Weissenfels, the FCBB will be challenged in the Bundesliga before Asvel Villeurbanne comes to the Audi Dome on Friday (11th December).

 

Points per quarter Bayern - Khimki: 15-22, 28-18, 21-24, 16-13.

Stats - Two-point shooting: 52% (FCBB) // 61% (Khimki); Three-point shooting: 40% // 33%; Free-throw shooting: 78% // 78%; Rebounds: 30 // 31; Assists: 19 // 19; Turnovers: 8 // 14.

Quotes:
FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "Once again we won against a very strong, talented team. Your placement does not show your true quality. We played hard here today. We did not defend well, especially in the pick-and-roll defense which was terrible. We also didn't get fouled in the first half and didn't use the fouls properly. If we don't defend, we have problems and are 15 points behind. But we found a way to deal with it and came back. The second half in the second quarter was very strong; we could have been leading bigger, but still found a way to win. My players found a way to win. It didn't look good, but it tastes fantastic and I have to give my players a lot of respect. This team has a very young backcourt and many players who have never played at this level before. What they are doing here is far beyond what is taken for granted".

Paul Zipser: "There were so many strange highs and lows in this game. In the end we might have had a little bit of luck, but we fought hard and in the end it was a victory from hard work. We are just happy that we won today against this strong team."

Game recap:
Former Bayern players are always welcome in the Audi Dome and this evening it was a well-known trio: Devin Booker, Greg Monroe and Stefan Jovic. FCBB Coach Andrea Trinchieri started the game with Wade Baldwin, Vladimir Lucic, Nick Weiler-Babb, Paul Zipser and Leon Radosevic. After a few misses the Munich team found rhythm and self-confidence to take a 8-2 lead after three minutes. The star ensemble from Moscow responded amazingly with a 7-0 run and took the lead for the first time. Stefan Jovic played his first minutes of the season and he immediately hurt his former club. The Bavarians made too many mistakes and fell behind 22-15 after ten minutes of play.

Khimki defended more aggressively and used their individual class mercilessly and efficiently in the front court for another 10-2 run. But Trinchieri's team reacted magnificently with an overdue comeback and shrank the deficit into the single-digit range. Wade Baldwin drove with all his might to the basket and finished to take the score to 33-26 in favor of Khimki. The game of the increasingly focused Munich players stabilized on both sides of the ball. The FCBB turned the game around and, after a 15-point deficit, not only came closer but also grabbed the lead with a 15-0 run. After the first half the FCBB led 43-40.

Moscow's star, Alexey Shved was intent on taking over the game but the Munich team was on its toes and were able to answer his constant scoring with a Baldwin dunk which secured the lead (51-47/23.). But Shved did not let up and also scored his fourth three in five attempts - Moscow up 56-54. Bayern had issues scoring and immediately Khimki began to pull away. Shved ran hot and scored 12 points in this quarter alone, but eventually he too gets tired. And this gave Bayern their chance to tie it up - 64-64 after three quarters.

The play on the court got a bit chaotic to start the fourth quarter and the FCBB went four minutes without a basket before Zipser finally scored a layup. Munich had a hard time scoring but fought with all their might. Wade Baldwin was on the verge of becoming the deciding factor with five points in a row towards crunch time when he was booked with his fifth foul, 73-73 with three minutes to play. Every attack was how crucial as the lead changed with almost every shot. In the last minute Nick Weiler-Babb hit two free throws and got an immensely important offensive rebound after which he was fouled. The next two free throws he had to make were also big to take a three-point lead, 80-77.  (80:77/ 1.5 seconds left) The final shot by the Russians by Monroe missed the target and Bayern escaped with a huge win.

               

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Photo Credit: Eirich, Rauchensteiner