65-63 Bayern can't finish in front

The Bayern Basketball team is heading into the difficult Double Week of the EuroLeague without a sense of achievement: Head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team lost a very physical duel with their once again successful cup opponents Chemnitz, 65-63. After taking a 62-54 lead with just under five minutes on the clock, the Munich team only managed one more free throw point in the once again deserted Audi Dome despite open shots. With their fourth defeat of the season, head coach Andrea Trinchieri's team failed to keep pace with league leader Bonn. The FCBB will meet the latter next Sunday after the games against Kaunas (Tuesday) and Monaco (Thursday).

The FCBB without Hunter, Lucic and Sisko - defended intensively early and provoked turnovers (11-3/5th). But Chemnitz showed quality early with a 16-0 counter-attack for a 19-11 lead (9th). The second quarter (26-12) saw a much more consistent Munich, who worked hard on both ends. After the break, the Niners fought tough and scoring was difficult for both teams and especially for the host from distance (19%). So Chemnitz went in front 25 seconds before the end and stayed there. Thomas (19) scored the most points for Bayern.

Points per quarter Bayern - Chemnitz: 16-19, 26-12, 915, 12-19.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 55% (FCBB) // 49% (Chemnitz); Three-point shooting: 19% // 33%; Free-throw shooting: 69% // 63%; Rebounds: 35 // 42; Assists: 12 // 13; Turnovers: 12  // 20.

Quotes:                     

Andrea Trinchieri: "This is a tough loss for us. Six of 32 threes, that cost us the game, because on defense we were very stable, except for the last three attacks. But they scored 65 points, that's not the problem, this is the 63 points. On a day when we had good support from Jason George and Gavin Schilling, we couldn't win the game - that's why it's a tough loss and a reality check. (...) We also wanted to get the ball inside at the end, but they helped, so it came outside. And those were all open shots, but if you don't score, it's hard to play like that. Still, we should have found a way to win this game."

Deshaun Thomas: "They came out here and hit the important shots when it counted. We had good opportunities as a team, but our shots didn't fall, mine didn't either. We know Chemnitz, they come here well prepared and only ever have one game a week. But we also had a week to prepare because of the postponement in the EuroLeague. We have to learn from that and try to get better as a team. We didn't score enough points in the second half. We have to become more greedy about scoring those points through good defense. We have to learn from this and focus more on just making those points in the second half in the future."

Chemnitz head coach, Rodrigo Pastore: "Fortunately, we were able to win here today against one of the best, if not the best team in Germany. It was a very difficult game, there were moments when our opponent was clearly better than us. We didn't like the pace of play, but that's the result of a switch defense. Thomas challenged us a lot in the low post, to which we had no answers in several sections. [...] We were able to finish the game with six consecutive stops and we were lucky to score a lot in the final quarter."

Game recap:

FCBB head coach Andrea Trinchieri chose the starting five of Corey Walden, Ognjen Jaramaz, Jason George, Deshaun Thomas and Augustine Rubit for the opener of four games in eight days. Munich defended tightly from the first second and thus the rhythm was slower from both teams. Jaramaz's successful three-pointer made it 7-3 and a little later the FCBB was 11-3 ahead (5th minute of the game). The Niners answered with a 9-0 run - Trinchieri was not amused and called for a timeout (12-11 Chemnitz/7th). But the talk did not change anything and the smooth rhythm was gone. The Saxons, on the other hand, were running like clockwork. Deshaun Thomas ended the over four-minute scoring lull of the FCBB with five quick points - 19-16 lead for Chemnitz after the first quarter.

The Bavarians kept their composure and remembered their strengths of a focused defense and a variable offense, which moved the ball especially near the basket and brought easy points and the lead again (25-23/13th). Munich now took the fight and stayed ahead while Chemnitz had earned five team fouls early on. The free throws were not all converted, but Leon Radosevic, back after a long-term injury, hit a three-pointer for a 33-26 lead - time-out Chemnitz (16th). The guests tried a zone defense but Rivers punished that with a three-pointer for a 38-31 lead (18th). The FCBB defense remained gallant and attentive and in front Nick Weiler-Babb scored for the first double-digit lead, 42-31.

Munich needed just under three minutes for the first basket against the ambitious Chemnitz squad: Rubit burrowed his way through and scored to make it 44-36 (23rd). However, this play could not hide the fact that the Bayern had issues as could be seen from the missed shots and turnovers. The Niners defended with more heart and came threateningly close again with a 10-3 run (45-43/26th). The number of turnovers was unacceptable but fortunately on both sides. The play on the floor can confidently be described as somewhat wild and at times it went haywire. Nevertheless, Bayern maintained the lead - 51-46 after quarter three.

Munich lets a victory slip away in the final minute

Walden's three-pointer in Bayern's first attack gave hope and Rivers brought both his class and experience to bear and scored to make it 56-46 (32nd). Bayern's offense was then again too static, and the shots did not fall. The Saxons still believed in their chances and shortened the gap to 58-54 (35th).  In this important moment Thomas was reliable (63-57/37th). The stubbornly fighting Niners were repeatedly stopped by Munich's defense and prevented from getting closer on their way to crunch time. The guests didn't hit their shots, but neither did the Bavarians - neither team was above the 30 percent mark (from three) by then. No basket was made for more than two minutes, but Chemnitz' Lockett promptly hit a three-pointer. After this play Bayern lost the ball, Chemnitz was successful again and got within 63-62 with 49 seconds to go. Thomas came up for a three-point attempt, which missed the mark and again it was Lockett who put the Niners in the lead with a three-pointer (65-63/ with 25 seconds left). Walden's three-point attempt also missed the mark and Bayern let a home win slip through their fingers.

Photos: FCBB, Eirich, Stickel