There was not much missing for a EuroLeague thriller: The Bayern basketball team lost 84-73 to the title favorites FC Barcelona in the sold-out Audi Dome on Tuesday and are still waiting for a win after three  gamedays. The Munich team showed a high-quality performance until halftime and never gave up, but the abundance of quality of the deep star ensemble from Spain made the difference at the end.

In less than 48 hours, the next top team to visit the Audi Dome will be Italian champions Milan (Thurs., 20:30).

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Trinchieri again missed Bonga, Harris and Sisko, but his team defended hard from the start and was on par for a time (22-21/13th). Barça's size advantage was noticeable in rebounding (27-37) and two unfocused minutes after the break suddenly put the FCBB 48-36 behind (23). Barcelona's strong three-point quota of 50 percent played a major role in the loss as well. Bayern's top scorers were Rubit (19 points), who was injured later in the game, and Winston (11).

Points per quarter Bayern - Barcelona: 18-18, 16-19, 19-28, 20-19

Stats: Two-point shooting: 41 % (FCBB) // 56 % (Barcelona); Three-point shooting: 33 % // 50 %; Free-point shooting: 88 % // 88 %; Rebounds:  27 // 37; Assists:  7 // 24; Turnovers:  5 // 11

Quotes:

FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "The decisive events happened in the third quarter. Because the other three we were more or less in the game. The third we got very bad, conceded three threes in a row. That cost us the game. It was a good first half. We had good moments and countered their intensity and physicality. But it was not enough to play only 30 minutes. We had problems guarding some of them, Laprovittola and Abrines especially; together they made eight threes, which is a little too much. I don't think we have to blame our players too much. We just have to give ourselves the opportunity to win a game, then you see things from a different perspective. (...) We were bad in one-on-one defense, so we were not good in the rotation. (...) I thought our game in Bologna was almost better because we only had seven assists today. How are you supposed to have an offense like that? That's our bigger problem. We also don't have wings because Bonga and Harris are still out; Rubit, our best player, got injured in the game. (...) I can't cure them, but I can demand a little more creativity from my team."

Barcelona head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius: "Congratulations to our fans and the players. We were very good today and implemented some things that we keep talking about. In the second half, it was exactly how we want to play. We found options on offense and stood well on defense. We then also started hitting our open shots that we left out in the first half. Overall, we had a few too many fouls. We sent Bayern to the line and gave them easy points. But that also speaks to the quality of the opponent. Few teams will win here in Munich, so we're very pleased."

Cassius Winston: "We had phases where we couldn't get the ball in the basket and at the same time we didn't get the stops we needed. Barcelona is a good team, you can't allow yourself to do that if you want to win the game. We have to continue to improve. There is still a lot I can work on to help my team better. But it's a process, we'll still find each other. Plus, in Europe there are some things I have to get used to, like the tight defense in the zone or the speed."

Nick Weiler-Babb: "We played a great first half, we were right there, but in the second half we did a few little things wrong. We went in too slow, missed a few shots and they made a few important ones. A team like Barcelona takes advantage of little things like that. I think we improved a little bit from the first two Euroleague games. We had good moments, we just have to combine more of them and keep that going for 40 minutes."

Game recap:

The starting five in the Euroleague clash consisted of Nick Weiler-Babb, Ognjen Jaramaz, Vladimir Lucic, Augustine Rubit and Othello Hunter. The reunion with the title aspirant started like the previous meeting in the quarterfinals ended - intense. In the first four minutes it was a fight at the rim and a difficulty to score until Weiler-Babb was found at the three-point line. The Bavarians held their own from the start. Both Rubit and Winston took ice-cold advantage of Catalans' fouls, countering the size advantages of Sertac Sanli and Mike Tobey. With a great drive to the basket, Winston evened the first quarter at eye level.

In the second quarter, sharpshooter Alex Abrines ensured that the guests' three-point quota, which had been non-existent until then, was lifted. The Munich team, on the other hand, concentrated on its defense. Freddie Gillespie stopped center Jan Vesely from full speed at the zenith with an incredible block. A little later, Weiler-Babb did the same against Oskar Da Silva. Only Abrines was not impressed by this and fired four threes into the basket. Despite a busy Rubit (13 points in the first half), the favorite was able to pull away slightly - 33-28 (18th). Thanks to threes by Walden and Weiler-Babb and only two turnovers, the hosts stayed within striking distance after a high-class first half (37-34). 

Barça pulls away quickly after the break

In the second half, Sarunas Jasikevicius' team showed why it was put together to fight for the title. Nicolas Laprovittola and Tomas Satoransky scored from the outside, Vesely dropped in points as well and in about two minutes the deficit was in double digits - timeout Trinchieri (48-36). High time for captain Lucic to take over and put up a quick five points. But the Spaniards stayed hot, again and again they found their free shooters, who now pulled the trigger without hesitation. At the same time, Trinchieri's team had to work hard for every shot. Walden and Jaramaz prevented the game from slipping away with two baskets (65-53/30th).

In the final quarter, Lucic ignited the Audi Dome with his strong defense and subsequent three-point play. Megatalent Rokas Jokubaitis answered with seven quick points (72-60/33rd). Winston and Hunter played well together to reduce the deficit once again. But even though the effort was still there, Barca allowed only little. Vesely and Sanli made the way to the basket difficult (78-68/38th). Even though the title aspirant scored only sporadically, the Munich team lacked the time and the power to catch up (84-70).

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