The comeback of the Bayern basketball team in the EuroLeague standings took a break, at least on Wednesday evening: After seven wins out of the past ten games, the five-time German champions were clearly defeated by Greek third-place Olympiakos Piraeus by a final score of 83-60 points on gameday 15. At the break, the physical favorite (10-5 wins) had already ensured a nearly sure victory. The Munich team (7-8) could not come close to its potential this time, but still decided the second half in its favor.
In addition to top scorer Hilliard, the FCBB had to do without playmaker Sisko (back) at short notice and without him the FCBB had only ten assists; Radosevic and Zipser are also still in rehab. Thus, K.C. Rivers came in to play after only two practices with the team. Center Augustine Rubit (10th) alone was able to score in double figures.
The FCBB squad led by coach Andrea Trinchieri will travel on to Belgrade on Thursday afternoon, where they will host league rivals Red Star Belgrade on Friday (20:45), who are also strong at home. The Adriatic champion lost a tight game on Tuesday against league leader Barcelona (76-69). Already on Sunday (18:00), the BBL duel with Ludwigsburg will take place in the Audi Dome.
Olympiakos Piräus - FC Bayern Basketball 83-60
Top scorer Piräus:
Sasha Vezenkov (16 points)
FCBB:
Nick Weiler-Babb, Deshaun Thomas (9), Corey Walden (2), K.C. Rivers (5), Othello Hunter (9/5 Rebounds), Ognjen Jaramaz (6), Vladimir Lucic (8), Jason George, Andreas Obst (8), Nihad Djedovic (3/4 Rebounds), Augustine Rubit (10/5 Rebounds), Gavin Schilling
Referee
Matej Boltauzer, Emilio Perez, Robert Vyklicky
Attendance
5,315
Points per quarter Bayern - Olympiakos: 10-26, 14-23, 13-16, 23-18)
Stats: Two-point shooting: 41 % (FCBB) // 76 % (Piräus); Three-point shooting: 29 % // 29 %; Free-throw shooting: 57 % // 83 %; Rebounds: 32 // 32; Assists: 10 // 15; Turnovers: 13 // 12
Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "On one side we saw a great performance from Olympiakos, offensively and defensively. They were better in everything, even in the warmup. On the other hand, there was a very weak performance from my team, we didn't have enough mental and physical energy. So, on one hand, I congratulate Georgios Bartzokas and his team, they clearly deserved this victory. On the other hand, if you talk about a bad performance, it always applies to the whole group, not only to the players, but also to the coaches. The most difficult thing on such evenings is to remain objective. Sure, I can go into the booth and point the finger at who didn't do this and who didn't do that: You were lackadaisical, you were slow, you didn't fight, blah blah blah for 25 minutes, that would be easy for me. But I don't forget our predicament, because we played without four players and we have had only big games lately, first Efes, then Alba on the road. Such bad nights can happen and I stand by my players even now. We were bad and we have to be better in everything, already in 48 hours we have a very difficult game. I remain by the side of my players, even if this was a very shameful performance by all of us."
Nick Weiler-Babb: "From the start we didn't have the right energy and then when you are so clearly behind against such a good team, it's hard to come back. We fought in the second half and we have to fight back on Friday."
Game recap:
After four minutes, Trinchieri called a timeout: Down 10-0. Four turnovers, hardly any good shots and there was a need for discussion. Another turn of the clock and Jaramaz finally scored on his eighth try, 10:3, but there was no grip on defense, no fluid ball movement and no rhythm in finishing against the physical Greek defense until the end of the quarter (26-10). Piraeus scored far too easily in the zone. Returnee Rivers did hit his first shot 30-12 (13th). But this was the last positive footnote until the break. The guests had to let it slip and the deficit was huge 41-19 (16th) at halftime. They could hardly even generate one stop and the 83 percent scoring rate of the EuroLeague champions of 2013 from within the arc was...not ideal from the FCBB perspective.
Trinchieri brings on Rivers for the first time and saves Lucic for Belgrade
Going into the second quarter with a 25-point deficit seemed like a thankless task. And so it was. The Munich team simply could no longer truly be "in" this game with the favorites. At 65-31 (29th) and 71-37(32nd), the highest deficit, the option of catching up was long gone.
In view of the next task already in a few hours Trinchieri brought in Rivers more often and, for example, spared Lucic completely. The FCBB fought its way back to 75-58 (37th) and Andreas Obst scored eight points late in garbage time.
(c) Moschandreou, Stickel