FCBB triumphs in Oldenburg & celebrates fourth Cup win

The locker room was  flooded by cool Paulaner fountains, which especially covered head coach Andrea Trinchieri: Exuberantly, the Bayern basketball players celebrated winning the German Cup 90-78 in front of 6,200 fans against host Oldenburg. They played an outstanding game with a 57 percent shooting mark from the floor. In the semifinals on Saturday, they dethroned defending champion Berlin (83-77). This is the fourth Cup triumph for Bayern after 1968, 2018 and 2021.

CUP-T-Shirts!

"We played in honor of Rubit"

The MVP of the tournament was Nick Weiler-Babb, who scored 14 points in both games. Top scorers in the final were returnee Vladimir Lucic and Corey Walden with 18 points each. The only player missing was Augustine Rubit, the EuroLeague MVP of the month for January who seriously injured his foot in the semifinals and returned to Munich in the morning.

Stats: Two-point shooting: 63 % (FCBB) // 46 % (Oldenburg); Three-point shooting: 50 % // 39 %; Free-throw shooting: 72 % // 74 %; Rebounds: 29 // 35; Assists: 15 // 14; Turnovers: 15 // 14

Quotes

Andrea Trinchieri: "I came to Oldenburg with the feeling that my team had to show up. Now I have mixed feelings. I am happy for my players and that we won. But I can't push aside the pain of losing Augustine Rubit. It's a very bad injury that ends the season for him. He is here with us and we also played in his honor today.

We needed this title because we have been through a tough period. (...) It was an incredible weekend. We played two great games that we controlled from the beginning. Now we leave with the trophy. We are close together and have created deep bonds. That's why we missed Rubit so much today. He played great for us, was the best scorer for us in the EuroLeague and MVP of the month. But that won't be enough to stop us.

One thing you have to remember. When I criticize the team, I also criticize myself. We have to use every game to build something. In doing so, you also have to be tough. Only then can you hit back. So I don't criticize a player or a team simply to be able to criticize.

We haven't even practiced with the complete team yet, so we should be very happy now. Because Oldenburg is very well coached, they play with system and here with these fans it is always difficult. Oldenburg fought and tried to come back. But we always had an answer. I'm proud of my players."

Nick Weiler-Babb: "To come here after so many ups and downs and play the way we did feels very good. It's nice to get rewarded now after some losses. The MVP title means a lot to me because I worked hard. At the same time, though, I have to thank my teammates. Without them, I wouldn't be here; I can't do this alone. We've seen that our work is starting to pay off and we can win again after a few setbacks. We are a very good and talented team. We have to build on that. Our goal is of course to win the German championship as well, but there's still a long way to go."

Andreas Obst: "It's a season with ups and downs. We played poorly against Hamburg and knew we can't go into the weekend like that. That was a bit of a wake-up call for all of us and made it clear that we have to go in as a team. We showed that. The title takes a little pressure off our shoulders now. But we still have a long way to go. We'll certainly enjoy the victory over the next few days, though.

And now: Where's beer? And please, not pizza again!"

President FC Bayern Herbert Hainer: "It feels great. We had a great weekend. The team performed great both yesterday against Alba and today against Oldenburg. I don't think there are two opinions that we deserved to be cup winners. You also have to see that we had a lot of injuries during the season. Vlado Lucic only returned for the weekend, Andi Obst was out for six weeks. Elias Harris has been missing and yesterday Augustine Rubit was also injured.

I think when the coach criticizes players he does it to get the guys motivated again. He did that incredibly well. We lost against Hamburg on Tuesday and now we've played two games like that. At Bayern, you're always under pressure. We want to win titles. That was the first one, and we still have one to go. But this win also releases positive energy."

Oldenburg coach, Pedro Calles: "It's not a nice feeling, of course, but that's how it is in professional sports: Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. I'm proud of my players, who played well today. But we just weren't good enough to beat Bayern Munich. So we know what we have to do now. The difference between yesterday and today was the class of the opponent. Bayern punished every mistake we made. In addition, they hit their threes today. We, on the other hand, didn't find our rhythm right away. I don't know if the players were nervous."

Game recap:

In the German Cup final Niklas Wimberg replaced the injured Augustine Rubit in the starting five, which was completed by Cassius Winston, Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga and Freddie Gillespie. The FCBB got off to an almost perfect start. Their first five trips down the floor led to points and a quick timeout from Pedro Calles - 11-2. The defense was also right on track as they clamped down on the opposing offense. Only Oldenburg's star Dewayne Russell managed to get on the scoreboard at all in the first nine minutes. He accounted for the first eleven points for the home team. Bayern, meanwhile, was on fire hitting four of five threes and, despite Alen Pjanic's buzzer-beater they clearly won the first quarter (24-16).

The second quarter began chaoticly. However, neither team was able to take advantage of the resulting disorder. After numerous turnovers the score was (28-20/14th.). Weiler-Babb wanted to end the wild phase with a dunk of the season, but just barely missed putting the ball through the net. Bonga collected the rebound and set up Walden at the three-point line who drilled it. Oldenburg managed to get to the rim and score three times in a row and collected a bonus free throw each time to boot (37-29). A Walden basket calmed the yellow wall of Oldenburg fans in the EWE Arena and secured the eight-point lead at the break - 43-35.

Lucic leads his team

In the second half, the guests came out of the locker room well concentrated. Wimberg, Obst and Walden finished well-designed plays with points while on the other side again only Russell provided any points. A 12-3 run was the consequence (55-40/23rd). But as in the first half, some careless turnovers kept Pedro Calles' team in the game. Trey Drechsel now brought the necessary energy to keep the hope of a second cup title alive for Oldenburg. Trinchieri, meanwhile, tried to urge Winston to take the necessary rest after his fourth turnover. The guard responded with a beautiful drive to the basket. But in the end it was Walden who took control of the third quarter and restored the double-digit lead (65-54).

A three from Obst puts a bow on it

In the final quarter Lucic led the way to the Cup win. After a short hesitation, he took the three-pointer over the long arms of Leissner and scored. A little later he added three free throws. On the other side, quick finishes were now necessary for Oldenburg to get back in the game but the Bayern defense continued to dominate. A three-pointer from Weiler-Babb left Calles shaking his head (76-57/33rd). Drechsel and Russell pushed the offense once again for the home club but the Munich team had a fitting answer in its luggage, as it had throughout the game. Lucic and Walden were keys to scoring at this point for the FCBB. Time was running relentlessly against the home side who came back to within ten points with two minutes to go - 86-76. But the Munich team stayed cool, found Obst for three and won the BBL trophy in style (90-78).