Obst leads Bayern to 11th win

The German Cup winner ends on top, against France's champion Lyon-Villeurbanne. The Bayern basketball team won 76-72 after a solid performance in front of 6,000 fans - including Asvel owner Tony Parker and club boss Herbert Hainer as well as the EuroLeague leaders around Dejan Bodiroga. National player Andi Obst led the way to the eleventh win with five three-pointers while Niels Giffey added nine points and nine rebounds.

Lucic has to sit again

Coach Trinchieri had to do without Lucic (in addition to Rubit and Harris), while top star De Colo was surprisingly not available for Asvel.

On Wednesday, the FCBB will travel to Greece to prepare to face title candidate Olympiakos who won 77-70 against Barcelona on Tuesday and is now in first place in the standings. The game tips off Thursday at 20:00.

What was an expectedly difficult game

It was a tough game against a team that already defeated Barcelona and Olympiakos and has nothing to lose. Three threes by Obst aided the first push to take a 31-21 lead (13th), but the guests showed their quality with a 10-0 run to tie it at 33-33.

In the third quarter Bayern missed open shots and suddenly Villeurbanne was ahead 50-49 and 59:56 (34th). It was again Obst (15 points) who scored at the biggest moment and willed Bayern to a win.

Score per quarter Bayern - Villeurbanne 21-19, 17-17, 15-14, 23-22

Stats: Two-point shooting: 44 % (FCBB) // 52 % (Asvel); Three-point shooting - 32 % // 44 %; Free-throw shooting: 75 % // 64 %; Rebounds: 43 // 32; Assists: 13 // 20; Turnovers: 11 // 15

Quotes:

Munich head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "I think it's a great thing to win a game in the EuroLeague without playing well. We've had so many games where we've been good and lost. For a variety of reasons we didn't have our best game today, we didn't have the energy we've had lately. Athleticism gave us some problems on offense, we didn't have much rhythm and we didn't have players who could read the situations properly, especially guards. Still, it's a good win, I'll take it - a win is a win. (...)

We shot a lot of threes because they had a big man in the zone who they kind of parked like the bus in front like Mourinho. And we just don't have our best post-up player anymore, Aug Rubit. That's why we had to play a lot of pick-and-roll and shoot. That's why it was great how we went for the rebounds, that decided the game for us. Those extra possessions gave us pure oxygen on offense."

Andreas Obst: "We had open shots, we played together as a team, moved the ball, distributed well and also rebounded. That's what gave us the open shots, which we then hit."

Niels Giffey: "It's nice for us to get the home win. It's still important for us to continue to improve our game over the course of the season and that's exactly what we're doing step by step. We played a solid game and got the win at the free throw line in the end."

Game recap:

Nick Weiler-Babb, Cassius Winston, Isaac Bonga, Niklas Wimberg & Freddie Gillespie were the starting five for the FCBB. Both teams started the game a bit slowly which was also shown by the score after the first five minutes (10-9 lead for Villeurbanne). A putback dunk by Othello Hunter tore the fans in the Audi Dome from their seats for the first time but the game remained close throughout the first quarter, 21-19.

Andi Obst opened the second quarter by drilling a three (11th minute of the game/24-19). Asvel interim coach Morgan Belnou was then forced to take the first timeout for his team (26-19, 12th). A hot-running Obst further increased the lead to 31-21 (14th). Trinchieri's first timeout (14th) took some of the game flow out of this EuroLeague matchup, which benefited Asvel Villeurbanne a bit more. The French were able to cut it to 33-32 before Coach Trinchieri took the second FCBB timeout (33-32, 18th). A Seeley three-pointer shortly before the end of the second quarter secured a narrow lead for the home side at the half-time break - 38-36.

26 FCBB rebounds already in the first half

After halftime, Bayern was able to add another six points before the guests in turn scored a basket (44-38). The seven-footer, Youssoupha Fall, provided a highlight dunk and brought the French back to within three, 46-43 (26th). However, Asvel Dee Bost crystallized as their go-to guy. The exciting game didn't allow another big run for either team in the quarter, so it ended 53-50 for the FCBB.

The decision is made at the free-throw line

Coach Trinchieri took an early timeout as his team fell behind (57-56). Early foul trouble on Bayern's side hampered the conditions for a relaxed finish but a pull-up three-pointer by Obst and a basket from his national teammate Giffey put the Munich team back in front (62-60). The Audi Dome was also right back in the game with another Obst three-pointer. With a score of 65-64 the game headed into crunch time, which was heralded by a lost asvel coach challenge and an unsportsmanlike foul by Fall. Corey Walden then not only brought the hall to a boil, but also the French guests to their fourth timeout (70-64, 38th). The last 120 seconds were emblematic of this tight duel as the offense slowed to a crawl and the game was decided at the free throw line 15 seconds before the buzzer thanks to Issac Bonga. With a final score of 76-72 FC Bayern Basketball captured their 11th Euroleague win of the season.