Bayern loses in the last second

As always, it was close, and this time the decision was made in the final seconds and Bayern ended up on the short end 77-75. The Bayern Basketball team lost the second matchup against Berlin in the EuroLeague which was their first victory in eight tries again Munich in the top league. In front of 6,500 fans in the sold-out Audi Dome, the Cup winners could not counter the last basket from the guests by Obst's final shot.

On Sunday (15:00), Bayern will face the MBC in the Audi Dome, which is also already sure to be packed.

Bayern struggled to score early on - especially from three - (38-29/18th) while on the other side Maodo Lo (16) had himself quite the first half. It was Giffey after the break who finally regained the lead at 50-48 (27th). Bayern turned up the head but Berlin's defense was very tenacious and the home team struggled to hit their shots. Winston was top scorer with 14 points.

Quotes:         

Andrea Trinchieri: "We shot badly the whole game and that affected our offense. In the end it was all about details and I think we could have secured the win two possessions earlier; with two free throws by Winston for example, because I think he was fouled. After that, we defended very well twice, the third time we got beat by Maodo. Before that, we had defended incredibly, but we couldn't get the rebound. We should have done little things better, overall the game was very close. I think if Cheatham understands EuroLeague basketball a little more, he will be more helpful. (...) We lost by one, after the fifth game against Alba it is now still 3:2 for us and we lost twice by one point. Hopefully we will see each other again, but for that possibility this game leaves no deeper meaning."

Andreas Obst: "We lacked energy today and I think Berlin wanted it a bit more. We did fight our way back and had our good phases. But we were too inconsistent, we missed a few shots and that was the deciding factor in the end. There are days like that without a touch, but I don't worry about that. I got hit in the back of the head on the last shot, so for me it was a foul. But maybe it was hard for the referee to see. That's the way it is now and you can't change it. We still have a few games left to play after all."

Game recap:

Cassius Winston, Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga, Niklas Wimberg and Freddie Gillespie were the starters for FCBB head coach Andrea Trinchieri in the fifth clash with Berlin this season. The sold-out crowd in the 1972 Olympic Basketball Hall was in high spirits, and on the floor the perennial rivals engaged in what was, as always, a tough battle from the very first second. Wimberg scored three quick baskets including a dunk to make it 8-6 for Bayern (4th minute of the game). Bayern created good shots but at first nothing went in from the three-point line and six missed attempts made the fans murmur. Berlin managed to pull away a bit, but then the first Bayern three-pointer finally went through the basket from Walden to take the deficit to three, 14-11 (8th minute). After the first quarter, Munich clearly had room for improvement - 20-14.

Bayern without flow - until an 8-0 run

Trinchieri took a timeout after ten seconds of the second quarter after a quick basket by Berlin. The Berliners were clearly the better team at this point in the game and the FCBB needed rhythm. Nice plays by Bonga and Gillespie pushed the crowd to ump the volume and were now behind by six (25-19/13th). Bayern struggled to catch up primarily due to turnovers but at least the deficit was "only" in the single digits (31-26/16th). Trinchieri brought on Lucic and relied on his captain to get the team back in the game. The fans' hopes for a change in the lead vanished because Berlin forced Trinchieri to take another timeout with five quick points (38-29/18th). Defensively, Munich played at a higher level and at the other end of the court, too, there were signs of a turn for the better and with an 8-0 run, the hosts fought their way back to one point down at 38-37 at halftime.

Change of leadership in the third quarter

The turnaround that was in the air failed to materialize after the change of ends and Berlin was ahead after four minutes of play in the half (46-41/24th). A three-pointer by Bonga got the fans back in the game and a little later the time had finally come for the FCBB to re-take the lead with a putback dunk by Bonga (47-46/25th). A nice three-pointer from Giffey made the Audi Dome shake, time-out Berlin (50-48/27th). Captain Lucic from drilled a shot from beyond the three-point line to make it 53-50 (28th). Bayern now retained the upper hand, albeit narrowly - 58-56 after the third quarter.

Tension until the end

The fans rose to support their team in the decisive quarter, creating a magnificent atmosphere. Winston steered a deep three into the basket while Tamir Blatt answered immediately from a similar distance (63-62/32nd). The tension increased as the lead changed several times (67-66/34th). It was clear to the fans that Bayern needed them now, and they delivered and Bayern kept a slim lead, (69-68/35th). After a basket by Jaleen Smith, nothing went right offensively for the FCBB for no apparent reason, and they didn't score for more than two minutes. Lucic had to fix that from the free-throw line (72-71 Berlin lead/38th). Bayern defended brilliantly in crunch time, and Winston took the initiative and scored two baskets to take a 75-74 lead with 18 seconds left. Smith was stopped on his way to the basket but the possession remained with Berlin - 5.7 seconds left. The visitors got the ball in with difficulty and to Maodo Lo, who drove to the basket and made the extra pass to Yanni Wetzell, who slammed the ball into the basket unimpeded (76-75/ 1.3 seconds left). Obst got the ball and the chance for a buzzer beater but was unable to finish with the game with a bang.