Partizan narrowly beats Bayern in front of 17,600 fans

The Bayern basketball team will have to try again to win its sixth EuroLeague game of the season in 2023: In front of 17,600 spectators in Belgrade (including Bastian Schweinsteiger courtside), the Munich lost to their coaches old team 83-77 in the last game of the year. The Serbs benefited from poor three-point shooting (26%) from the injury-weakened FCBB, which fought well in the eleventh game of the month but did not consistently provide the necessary push.

Double-Double for Hunter und Rubit

While Trinchieri was back on the court after suffering from bronchitis, Giffey (flu) had to travel back to Munich. Obst and captain Lucic were also still missing with elbow injuries.

The coach could not have been happy with the first five minutes of the game (11-2/5th) as Belgrade's physical advantages in the one-on-one really gave them an advantage. Partizan pulled away at the line shortly before the break. But Bayern never gave up, came back to 75-72 (38th) but ex-NBA pro Exum (19) was the ultimate boost for Partizan. Hunter (16) had a double-double with 14 rebounds, as did Rubit (14/11).

Tuesday after New Year's Eve (Jan. 3), Bayern will play in Rostock while the next appearances in the Audi Dome are the EuroLeague games vs Panathinaikos led by Derrick Williams (Jan. 5) and the new league leader Baskonia (Jan. 10) as well as the BBL rivalry game against Berlin on Jan. 8.

SCHEDULE

Score per quarter Bayern - Belgrade: 14-19, 15-22, 20-18, 28-24

Stats: Two-point shooting: 54 % (Partizan) // 41 % (FCBB); Three-throw shooting: 20 % // 26 %; Free-throw shooting: 77 % // 85 %; Rebounds: 36 // 43; Assists: 11 // 13; Turnovers: 6 // 8

Quotes:

Andrea Trinchieri: "Partizan played tough, hard, they were excellent on defense. We suffered, but we played the only possible way, to stay in the game and try to win in the end. We're missing three of our best shooters so you've got to look away on offense sometimes because we don't shine much there. But we fought hard, battled, cut the deficit and had a chance. They were better, congratulations, we'll move on to next year for the next game."

Othello Hunter: "We started slow, but improved that a bit in the second half. We ran out of steam a little bit at the end and just lacked the energy to start the game. The fans were great, and the team played hard. We tried to match that energy after the break, but it wasn't enough. (...) The fans' influence was great, but that was good for both sides in the end. But they just had the energy from the beginning."  

Partizan head coach, Zeljko Obradovic: "Bayern never gave up and they came back in the last quarter. We still played a good game and so congratulations to my team."

Game recap:

The Bayern Basketball team started the final game of the year with Nick Weiler-Babb, Ognjen Jaramaz, Isaac Bonga, Augustine Rubit & Freddie Gillespie. After 142 seconds, the Belgrade hosts scored the first points and dominated early. After a 9-0 run coach Andrea Trinchieri took the first FCBB timeout (4th). Immediately after the timeout, Gillespie scored two points for Munich. After two makes from outside the three-point line by Winston and Walden, Zeljko Obradovic called the  first timeout for Belgrade (11-6/6.). A spectacular shot by ex-Belgrade player Corey Walden was not enough for Bayern and the home side secured the lead after the first ten minutes - 19-14.

Two Winston free throws opened the scoring in quarter number two, but the momentum did not continue from there. It was not until two minutes later that the next points followed on the scoreboard for Munich when Hunter finished with a putback dunk (21-18/13.) After 17 minutes Ognjen Jaramaz scored his first three points and one offensive sequence later he was able to cut the deficit to 34-29. Partizan then turned up the offense. The result was a 7-0 run before the halftime break. The FCBB went into the dressing room with down 12.

29 FCBB points in the first half were too few

Under the eyes of Bastian Schweinsteiger, the Bayern basketball team tried to force more tempo right at the beginning of the second quarter with three guards on the floor. As a result, the game got faster but the deficit remained. (47-34.24). The subsequent Munich timeout ensured a more dominant FCBB presence under both baskets, but Bayern also could not manage to score. It was not until seven minutes into the third quarter that the guests scored their second basket in the half (47-37/27). A small run from the FCBB also forced Coach Obradovic to call a timeout one minute later (49-42). Dante Exum scored eight quick points and developed into the main initiator of the Belgrade offense. Othello Hunter was able to tighten things up a bit after a shooting foul on a three-point attempt by Matthias Lessort and closed the quarter out down ten at 59-49.

The FCBB offense gets going late

Exum continued to dominate s coach Trinchieri was forced to call a quick timeout (63-51/31). The hosts had reached the foul limit early, so the FCBB was given the chance to get back in it from the free-throw line, 68-63 (35).

The team was playing well as the game headed toward crunch-time at 75-72 for Belgrade. The Belgrade offense knew only one name in this decisive phase: Dante Exum. The Australian forced the fifth Munich team foul and thus a fourth Trinchieri timeout (38). A step-back three-pointer from Jaramaz cut it to a six-point deficit with just under a minute to go. After an Obradovic challenge, Bonga converted his free throws - 81-77. With 34 seconds on the clock and an exum turnover Bayern Basketball could go for a two-for-one. But the result was a Lessort block on Hunter. The consequence was a quick foul by Weiler-Babb and two successful Partizan free throws. In turn, the Weiler-Babb three-pointer did not fall and Bayern lost the game.