84-77 Great fight in Milan remains unrewarded

The Bayern Basketball team will go into the final four days of EuroLeague play in eighth place in the standings and with a record of 12:12. Andrea Trinchieri's team, which was weakened by injuries and illness, lost 84-77 in a make-up game at favored Final Four candidate Olimpia Milan despite a great fight. The top FCBB scorer was Vladimir Lucic with 26 points ahead of Ognjen Jaramaz (14).

The push continues on Friday (1.4., 20:30./Audi Dome) with the all-important, home game of the FCBB against their standings neighbors Red Star Belgrade. Just 20 hours later (Saturday, 18:00), they have to face Oldenburg in the BBL.

TICKET-SHOP

Without Hunter, Walden and Weiler-Babb, who are still ailing, the Munich team started very concentrated on defense in front of 4,900 spectators, Trinchieri surprised Milan with Djedovic and then also Schilling and youngster George in the line-up (14-7/7th). After a 19-15 in the first quarter, the Munich squad behind Lucic and Sisko suddenly increased the lead to 31-21 (17th).

The lead was lost right after the change and the third quarter with many unfortunate plays was lost against a now aggressive home team 23-14. With just under five minutes to go, Jaramaz and Lucic brought the struggling outsiders back to within one at 66-65 from distance. In the tight finish, it was mainly offensive rebounds by Milan's star ensemble that decided the game. 

STANDINGS

Points per quarter Bayern - Milan: 19-15, 17-18, 14-23, 27-28

Stats: Two-point shooting: 54% (FCBB) // 56% (Mailand); Three-point shooting: 37% // 38%; Free-throw shooting: 73% // 77%; Rebounds:  28//36; Assists:  11//13; Turnovers:  10//11

Quotes:         

Munich head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "We played a great game. We were physically and mentally present. Then at the end we lacked energy, but I'm proud of my players."

Darrun Hillard: "It was a very competitive game. We looked good for a long time and did our things. At the end, we didn't rebound well and made some silly plays. We should have rewarded ourselves because I think we could have won the game. In the end, we didn't play it well."

Ettore Messina, Chefcoach Mailand: "As I said before the game, Bayern is a very good team. They can defend, move the ball and have some good shooters. With the way they play, they can really hurt you. We played a good second half. We had a better flow, defended better and grabbed more rebounds. That's how we earned the win in the end."

Game recap:

Zan Mark Sisko, Nihad Djedovic, Vladimir Lucic, Augustine Rubit and Leon Radosevic were in the starting five for the FCBB. The Bavarians immediately started to build on the relaxed performance in the win against Crailsheim (93-64). With good ball movement, they took Milan by surprise and with a 9-4 start brought the first worry lines on the face of Ettore Messina, who took the timeout after only five minutes. After that, the hosts brought back what should have been their usual intensity on the floor via their defensive anchor Kyle Hines. But the Munich team didn't let that bother them at all. After a three-pointer by Darrun Hilliard, Ognjen Jaramaz had the last word in the first quarter (19-15).

In the second quarter, Trinchieri's team seemed a bit more alert than their opponent in contested situations. Olimpia did not score a single basket for about four minutes. Only the decreasing scoring rate allowed the Italians to stay in the game through the individual class of Shavon Shields and Troy Daniels (24-32/15th). However, the defensive grip remained clearly on Munich's side, while Lucic scored determined at the basket. After an intense final phase with many free throws and few points, the guests were left with a thin cushion at halftime - 36-33.

Milan ups the ante - Bayern stays in the game until the end

In the second half, former Bamberg player Devon Hall boosted the flow of play for the fourth-placed team in the EuroLeague and forced Trinchieri to call an early timeout down two (42-40/23rd). Even though the FCBB continued to defend tightly, the shots now suddenly fell at amuch higher percentage. A big-time Lucic three-pointer came just at the right time. A buzzer-beater by center Kaleb Tarczewski nevertheless meant that the third quarter went clearly to the favorites (56-50).

In the final quarter Jason George provided relief and worked hard against sharpshooter Luigi Datome (62-59/32nd). Hilliard tried to bring his team back from the three-point line. However, his third attempt was anticipated by Shavon Shields. After a short speech by Trinchieri, Jaramaz and Lucic drilled their shots from downtown (66-65 Milan/35th). Shields now shouldered the entire Milan offense and sank two quick threes. But even in this difficult phase, the guests from the Isar remained close (74-71/38th). In the following attack of the Italians, the momentum shifted. After two offensive rebounds by Nicolo Melli, Trinchieri was whistled for an unfortunate technical foul against himself. Minimal contact from Lucic to Shields earned the latter another three free throws. Thus, the hosts finally gained the decisive lead (84-77) shortly before the end despite passionate resistance.   

(C) Stickel, Cottini