The first of two huge home games this weekend has been won: The Bayern Basketball team won 98-89 gainst Israel's record champion Maccabi Tel Aviv, in front of 4,700 fans in the Audi Dome. Neither the absence of their captain Vladimir Lucic nor Maccabi's Lorenzo Brown (36 points) ruffled the Munich team's nerves and they celebrated their fourth EuroLeague victory.
On Sunday (18:00.), the important Cup quarterfinal for the Top Four spot against Bayreuth.
Without Lucic, Giffey and Rubit
The FCBB were again unable to field their best lineup at short notice, with Giffey (cold) and Lucic (elbow) dropping out just before the game. Rubit was also forced to withdraw after a few minutes due to groin problems. Six players scored in double figures for the home team, Winston (23 points), Harris (14), Walden, Bonga (12 each), Weiler-Babb and Obst (10 each).
Trinchieri's men were too rarely able to stop Maccabi's athletic frontcourt but had a good offensive rhythm. With an 11-2 run, they settled at 40-31 (14th), at 48-38 it was a double digit lead for the first time (18th). It helped to have a strong rebounding game (17-11 at the break, 34-24 at the end).
After halftime, the ürimary concern was to contain the efforts of Spain's European Championship hero Brown. The visitors closed the gap to 67-65 (28th) before Andi Obst let go two momentum threes. In general: The quota from distance of 50 percent was strong. In the final minutes a three-point play made it 90-81 and the game was sealed.
FC Bayern Basketball – Maccabi Tel Aviv 98:89 (50:44)
FCBB:
Cassius Winston (23 Points/3 Assists), Elias Harris (14 Punkte/3 Rebounds), Isaac Bonga (12/9 Rebounds), Nick Weiler-Babb (10/4 Rebounds), Corey Walden (10), Andreas Obst (10), Othello Hunter (6/5 Rebound), Ognjen Jaramaz (5 Points/5 Assists), Augustine Rubit (5/2 Reb), Freddie Gillespie (3/ 6 Rebounds), Paul Zipser & Niklas Wimberg.
Top scorer Tel Aviv:
Lorenzo Brown (36 Points)
Referee
Milivoje Jovcic, Emilio Perez, Saso Petek
Attendance
4,688
Points per game Bayern - Tel Aviv: 26-24, 24-20, 23-23, 25-22
Stats: Twp-point shooting: 50% (FCBB) // 66% (Tel Aviv); Three-point shooting: 50% // 37%; Free-throw shooting: 85% // 87%; Rebounds: 34 // 24; Assists: 13 // 11; Turnovers: 12 // 14
Quotes:
Andrea Trinchieri: "This is a great victory. When I look back at what happened in the last 36 hours, I have to say again that this was a great success. Everything that could go wrong again went wrong: Lucic out, Giffey out, Rubit out after four minutes. So we had to change our strategy a little bit. But we played well for 40 minutes, despite all the mistakes we made again, which are to be accepted, however, when your backbone breaks away from you at such short notice. We won because we had the will and played hard. We played the whole game on offense and then had problems on defense with Lorenzo Brown, who scored aggressively and also passed very smartly. But we were able to pull out our best defensive plaYs in the last five minutes. All my players deserve credit."
Cassius Winston: "Any win in the EuroLeague, at this level, is great. We played well together, everyone contributed. The team trusts me to make crucial plays. We have to keep the momentum alive now."
Elias Harris: "Cohesion was crucial today after we were missing Lucic and then Rubit. We solved it as a team and never gave up. We took everyone's open shot on offense and defended as a team. To beat a great team like Maccabi, you need that. Even without Rubit, everyone then knew what to do. (...) Bayreuth is a good team, there's no way we can go in and play loose on Sunday. We need a team performance like today and have to bring 100 percent energy."
Isaac Bonga: "The win is all that matters today. We knew it would be tough, over 40 minutes. Their guards are really good, very efficient. But we held together in the end. We are a new team and we needed some time in the beginning. I think every game now it's getting better and I always ask coach what piece we're missing - and we just need more time together."