A fine Advent atmosphere in the Audi Dome: Only 24 hours after returning from the Double Week in France, the Bayern basketball team held its ground against Wuerzburg in front of 5,400 fans in the southern rivalry game where a good offensive performance in the first half was the primary cause for the 83-73 win against the Baskets.
Top scorer was Isaac Bonga with a personal best of 18 points. With a 7-1 record the FCBB is now at the top of the standings ahead of Berlin and Bonn (6-1 each), who both lost.
Friday Maccabi, Sunday Bayreuth
The FCBB now have a few days for rest and regeneration before things get busy at the Audi Dome this weekend. On Friday (December 2, 20:30.), Maccabi Tel Aviv with Wade Baldwin and Darrun Hilliard comes to Munich in the EuroLeague. That is followed by a FCBB Cup Top Four game on Sunday (18:00) in the most important game of the season so far against Bayreuth.
Against Wuerzburg, Walden and Zipser returned to the squad while Hunter and Lucic could be spared (as well as Weiler-Babb on the bench). Their colleagues scored well in the zone and hit seven threes before the break when the energy level dropped a bit in the fourth game within eight days.
FC Bayern Basketball - Wuerzburg Baskets 83:73 (49:34)
FCBB:
FCBB: Isaac Bonga (18 Points/10 Rebounds), Cassius Winston (12/7 Assists), Augustine Rubit (12/6 Reb), Corey Walden (10), Niels Giffey (10), Andreas Obst (6), Freddie Gillespie (6/16 Reb), Elias Harris (4), Ognjen Jaramaz (3), Niklas Wimberg (2), Paul Zipser, Nick Weiler-Babb.
Top scorer Würzburg:
Stanley Whittaker (20 Points)
Referee
Benjamin Barth, Stefan Fingerling, Christof Madinger
Attendance
5,417
Points per quarter Bayern - Wuerzburg: 23-16, 26-18, 14-21,
Stats: Two-point shooting: 50% (FCBB) // 45% (Würzburg); Three-point shooting: 48% // 32%; Free-throw shooting: 74% // 81%; Rebounds: 46 // 27; Assists: 20 // 14; Turnvoers: 14 // 7
Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "I expected such a game against a serious team. I knew it wouldn't be an easy on Sunday. Nevertheless, we had a solid game and were just without mental energy at the end. We thought that they would not come back again. That was a mistake, but it's not that easy to ask for more; I always do that, but it's just difficult. We had three away games with Weissenfels, Lyon and Monaco, got back at six yesterday and the game was at three today. We showed respect to the opponent for over 30 minutes because we knew they would play hard. In addition, there were five, seven minutes of arrogant basketball. But the most important thing is that we were able to distribute the forces, the minutes and won against a team that called on its maximum potential. (...) We'll have 13 games in December, so now it's first about recovery and seeing who needs more rest."
Isaac Bonga: "It was hard for us. Just coming back from Monaco, we knew it was not going to be an easy game. In a game like this, you have to show that you go into every single quarter with energy and personality. We had our ups and downs today, but in the end we deserved to win. Basketball is a game of runs. We knew our opponents were going to have their runs at some point, too. But we kept our cool in the end and won the game. We will now gather energy and see what we can do better. Then we hope that everyone will be back if possible and we can prepare for the next opponent."
Andreas Obst: "A game like this is exhausting for the legs as well as for the head. We only got home late yesterday, so you don't have much time to regenerate. And today it goes straight on and the other team also always wants to play their best basketball. But we kept our cool when it got tight later on and pulled it off."
Cassius Winston finished with twelve points and seven assists
Game recap:
Trinchieri started with Cassius Winston, Isaac Bonga, Andreas Obst, Niels Giffey and Freddie Gillespie. The FCBB started the game well despite the travel stresses they had just overcome and defended quite well. Offensively, the turnovers were limited and the offense ran well (13-7/6th minute). Elias Harris brought fresh energy into the game and immediately helped go on a 7-0 run brought the score to 17-7 (8th). Rubit continued his excellent performance in the last games and was unstoppable. After six points in a row, the Munich team led 23-16 at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter the FCBB took their time scoring, but then Winston put on a show with his textbook floater to make it (25-19/12th). Winston's creativity now characterized the offense for the Munich team while Bonga added a three-pointer (35-23/15th). Bayern's defense made it difficult for Wuerzburg to finish its offense in a controlled manner, and FCBB picked up a chunk of the rebounds. The lead grew as the Munich team now made almost every attempt from beyond the three-point line - even Bonga's second three-pointer hit (41-27/17th). Within four minutes, only three-pointers were scored, including Jaramaz's fifth (44-30/18th). After the second quarter, the Munich team had extended its lead to 49-34.
Wuerzburg moves to within 73-67
Bayern's defense worked after the change of ends, but unfortunately the same could not be said of the offense. When Wuerzburg suddenly scored, the lead shrank (53-43/25th). The FCBB were off their game and Trinchieri took a timeout after the guests' three-pointer for a 55-48 lead (26th). The Baskets sensed their chance and felt like they had nothing to lose. Munich struggled to score but at least the free throws were converted while Bonga took the 59-50 lead (28th). Rubit finally scored a basket again, via "Flamingo" to make it 61-52 (28th). In the third quarter, the Munich team lost eight turnovers and scored only three baskets. After 30 minutes, they were lucky to still have a lead at 63-55.
Winston leaves no doubt
A Giffey three-pointer was balm for the fan souls in the Audi Dome, and the following one by Obst even more so (73-59/35th). Gillespie contributed defensively with an important block, as Würzburg remained red-hot and didn't give up on the game. They came back to within reach but Giffey used all his class and experience to calmly sink the three-pointer (76-64/36th). Wuerzburg's Stanley Whittaker scored a four-point play, and with another goal from distance the Baskets had come within three points (76-73/38th). Crackling tension could be felt in the Audi Dome. The Munich team stayed calm and passed the ball up to Walden, who sank the three-pointer to make it 79-73 (87 seconds left). Wuerzburg missed rebound to Winston, who took matters into his own hands in front and steered the floater from the free-throw line into the basket (81-73/ 52 seconds left). After the next miss by the guests, Winston was fouled and hit both free throws deciding the game.