FCBB road trip ends with a 95-85 win in Giessen

The Bayern Basketball team has successfully completed the longest away tour in the club's history: The team of head coach Andrea Trinchieri won 40 hours after the EuroLeague upset win at Real Madrid (97-88). They took the serious task in Giessen seriously and won 95-85. The FCBB remains second in the standings with its 20th win of the season and was also happy about the comeback of Nick Weiler-Babb after a five-week break due to his severe concussion. Corey Walden (Covid after-effects) continues to miss time.

The guests' top scorer in front of a crowd of just under 2,000 was the outstandingly accurate forward Deshaun Thomas with 34 points (14 of 20 from the field) ahead of Andreas Obst (15 points), youngster Jason George (14) and Augustine Rubit (13).

Munich took control in the first quarter (22-13/8th) and led clearly in the fourth (69-54/28th). They dominated the boards (39 to 19) against the 46ers who fought with commitment until the end.

The FCBB's next home appearance is the "Music meets Basketball" event against the MBC on Wednesday (April 13th, 19:00) with the concert highlight "Jan Delay & die Delaydies & DJ Mad". On Saturday, the team plays in Ludwigsburg (20:30).

TICKETS FOR JAN DELAY

Points per quarter Bayern - Giessen: 24-20, 24-19, 25-23, 22-23.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 57% (FCBB) // 63% (Gießen); Three-point shooting: 50% // 56%; Free-throw shoting: 91% // 52%; Rebounds: 39 // 19; Assists: 18 // 17; Turnovers:  9  // 11.

Quotes:        

FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "This was our sixth game in ten days. We came here and had to play a team that played quality offensive basketball. We had problems defending against McCullum and Omot, but we go home with a win. This has been important for us after all the efforts. Congratulations to my players and all the best to Giessen."          

Nick Weiler-Babb: "It feels good to be back on the court, even with less minutes and limited opportunities for me. But it just feels good to be back with the team, you can't complain. I got the call on Friday after the Madrid game, and the okay came from the doctors. I was hoping it would be sooner, but now I'm happy to be here. We played impressively today after this hard and long trip of ten days. We came here and fought, had important stops at the right time, and Deshaun Thomas delivered a great game today. For the playoffs against Barcelona, I hope to be 100 percent back and also mentally back to full strength."

Game recap:

Zan Mark Sisko, Nihad Djedovic, Jason George, Deshaun Thomas and Augustine Rubit started the game on the 29th BBL gameday. Sisko gave his team its first lead (5-4) after two minutes and a slow start. The opening phase was dominated offensively by Deshaun Thomas, who asserted himself time and again and contributed a full eleven of the 13 points for a 13-9 lead (6th minute of play). The 46ers, who were fighting against relegation, equalized at 13-13, but after FCBB coach Trinchieri's timeout, a clean 9-0 run gave them their biggest lead of the game so far (22-13/9th). However, the valiant Giessen team cut the deficit to four points by the end of the quarter - 24-20.

Giessen's sparkplug Kendale McCullum caused considerable problems for the FCBB defense, scoring easy baskets far too often (28-27/12th). The defensive lapses were well compensated for by the Munich team on the offense, however, and the lead held (35-29/15th). Giessen repeatedly switched to zone defense, against which shots from beyond the three-point line proved successful. Thomas and Obst took the lead to 41-33 (17th). Jason George got a lot of playing time and rewarded the coach's trust with his seventh and eighth points (45-36/19th). But the undisputed go-to-guy of the first half was Deshaun Thomas, who sank a three-pointer to make it 48-39 shortly before the end of the second quarter and scored a whopping 17 points in 13 minutes of play.

Huge performance from Deshaun Thomas

The Munich team grabbed a remarkable nine offensive rebounds in the first half and Jason George added two more and used the rebounds to score (52-44/22nd). The 46ers played well, but Bayern kept focused and energetic in this phase. Djedovic with a three-point play brought the lead back to eight 57-49 (24th). Giessen did not give up even in the face of a 15-point deficit and sank two three-pointers, but Augustine Rubit coolly seized the initiative and was on the spot with four points - 73-62 after quarter three.

Bayern holds on for the win

Giessen remained dangerous and on the heels of Bayern, driven by the nearly 2,000 fans in the Osthalle and the lively McCullum. Trinchieri took a timeout at 77-70 (34th), which gave the Munich team stability again and helped them to a snappy 9-0 run (86-70/35th). The 46ers' morale was unbroken, with an 8-0 run they forced Coach Trinchieri to call another timeout (86-78/37th). In keeping with the drama of the game, Deshaun Thomas ended the FCBB's brief lull with two buckets from the free-throw line. The double-digit lead shortly before the final phase gave the Munich team confidence, while an attentive defense and points from Rubit and George did the rest on the way to a commanding victory in the fifth game in an exhausting ten days, the 20th win in the BBL.

SCHEDULE

(c) Schepp, Stickel & FCBB