71-82 - Weakened FCBB delivers a great fight vs Piraeus

The conditions for an upset were lousy this time and Bayern couldn't get over the hump. Once again the injury-decimated Bayern basketball players missed the third win of the season against title candidate Olympiakos Piraeus on the eighth EuroLeague gameday despite terrific morale and lost 82-71 in front of 6,400 spectators. Coach Trincheri had a thin rotation at short notice due to a wave of colds: In addition to Sisko and Zipser (contusion), Harris, George, Wimberg and Walden were not fit for action, others played weakened with an illness.

The Audi Dome saw a confident favorite who scored almost at will early on (36-20/15th). But with a 14-4 run before the break, Bayern fought their way back and were in it late 69-65 (36th) - but Olympiakos' deep squad around Sasha Vezenkov (20 points) kept their nerves and won their fourth road game as well.

FCBB top scorer was Ognjen Jaramaz with twelve points.

Already on Saturday, 18:00 the Bavarians have to face the MBC in the BBL.

Stats: Twp-point shooting: 46 % (FCBB) // 62% (Olympiakos); Three-point shooting: 37 % // 30 %; Free-throw shooting: 84 % // 95 %; Rebounds: 32 // 32; Assists: 17 // 23; Turnovers: 14 // 10

Quotes: 

Andrea Trinchieri: "Congratulations to Olympiakos. I think they deserved the victory, they played a good game. Of course, our bad first quarter affected the whole game, it cost us the game. (...) 27-11, we couldn't implement anything we wanted to do. We were very sloppy on offense as well as defense and we didn't believe enough that we could be competitive today. After a first quarter to forget, we did our best - it wasn't enough. (...) But we had a good second quarter, came back and fought. The second half was better and we got as close as four points, with the ball in our hands and with the momentum . . . But then we had some mediocre plays and whistles. I'm a little surprised that we committed 24 fouls and Olympiakos only 16, but they shot 22 free throws and we only 13 - we have to improve that and I have to make it clear to my players that they shouldn't foul them. Still, we were short-handed, but we played well in the second half. That's why I don't look at the negative things, I look at the good things. (...). We lost against one of the best teams, had a very bad start, that can destroy any team - but we came back and had a chance to win. I could be really pissed about the start, but seeing how we came back and showed a performance, still to win - that's my focus today."

Ognjen Jaramaz: "We came back twice, but it was not enough. I think the bad start cost us the game; the start was our main problem today. We were missing important players today because of illness. Hopefully they will be back soon so we can continue with our positive development again."    

Game recap:

Trinchieri started against the second-placed team in the top flight with Cassius Winston, Andreas Obst, Vladimir Lucic, Niels Giffey and Freddie Gillespie. The Greek champions came into the game on fire and the FCBB was quickly 5-0 behind (2nd minute of the game). The visitors made the better decisions and increased their lead making Munich's deficit in the double digits halfway through the quarter, 16-6. With four minutes left on the clock, Trinchieri took a timeout as his team was threatening to lose the game in the first quarter (21-6/6th). Bonga stopped an 11-0 run of the guests with a three-pointer to make it 23-9 (8th). After ten minutes, Bayern trailed 27-11.

Trinchieri's words during the quarter break paid off as Jaramaz and Bonga scored (29-15/12th). Now the will of the Munich team was needed, which was difficult to muster in view of the clear deficit. Olympiakos, on the other hand, acted self-confidently and continued to score. Jaramaz cut the deficit to 33-20 with three free throws but Piraeus promptly answered by scoring from beyond the three-point line. Bayern couldn't manage on offense and defensively showed no rhythm either, allowing Olympiakos to score easy baskets (40-24/17th). Captain Lucic's big-time three-pointer had the makings of a "hello-wake-up moment" - and indeed Weiler-Babb knocked down the next three-pointer, forcing guest coach Bartzokas to call a timeout (40-30/19th). Suddenly, the Munich team was back oin the game and thrilled the hall with a brilliant 10-2 run that brought the Trinchieri squad to within six points at halftime - 40-34.

69-65 shortly before the end

The momentum continued after the break, much to the delight of the fans, with Gillespie adding two buckets (42-38/22nd). Moustapha Fall, the giant on the side of the Greeks, was repeatedly unstoppable and the legend Sloukas sank a three-pointer which increased the gap again (49-40/25th). The title contender was effective and once again pulled away to take a double-digit lead (53-41/26th). A Jaramaz three-pointer was not enough and Coach Trinchieri took the next time-out in view of the 57-44 deficit (27th). Two three-pointers from Obst gave the offense courage, but the Greeks also scored again and the score was 67-54 after the third quarter.

Help from the fans at the Audi Dome

Bayern was finally able to stop the giant, Fall and two points from Bonga and four from Weiler-Babb reduced the deficit to 69-60 (33rd). Bayern's determination impressed the fans and they got loud for their short-handed team. For three minutes, they failed to score a single basket before Bonga took advantage of an unsportsmanlike foul by the guests to make two successful free throws. A subsequent three-pointer extended the Munich run to 9-0 (69-65/36th). The Audi Dome was hopping and the atmosphere was fantastic. But once again Piraeus reacted in the style of a title contender and quickly scored five points in a row (74-65/38th). Three free throws by Lucic and a Hunter three brought the score to 76-71 with just under two minutes left. A controversial offensive foul by Bonga favored the Greeks, who secured the victory  and remain without undefeated away from home.

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