Bayern can’t really trouble Valencia

A much tighter game against the EuroLeague’s second-placed team would have been possible, but Bayern Basketball’s error rate was too high: despite an encouraging team performance, Anton Gavel’s side ultimately fell clearly, 87:102 (41:52), at Spanish champions Valencia, who defended hard for 40 minutes in front of nearly 13.000 fans and shot well (14 threes). On the positive side, alongside a fighting attitude, was the rising form of Andreas Obst (22 points), though the team still has to wait for its fourth win.

Stats Quotes 

Sunday at BMW Park vs. MBC

Before the next EuroLeague double week – Tuesday in Kaunas and Thursday at the SAP Garden against Baskonia - Bayern host current BBL third-placed Weißenfels on Sunday. Tipoff at BMW Park is at 4:30 p.m.

Valencia pressured Munich’s guards from the start and hit three threes, while Bayern first had to attack the paint (8:17/6'). Through offensive rebounds, FCBB gained more stability, but Valencia continued to punish every mistake with high efficiency (19:29/10').

Valencia Basket – FC Bayern Basketball 102:87 (52:41)

Full Boxscore

22 points from Andi Obst

Bayern had transition more or less under control in the second quarter, but it was hard to keep up with the opponent’s three-point shooting: 8/13 up to that point — 32:44, and Bayern had already committed too many turnovers in the first half (9:3).

Battled back to 51:56 and 57:62

Four minutes after the restart, FCBB were fully in the game, down just 51:56 after strong defensive sequences and another dunk by da Silva. Two quick turnovers sapped energy again, but not morale: 57:62 and 65:73 heading into the final ten — still everything to play for.

With a lot of physicality, however, the favorite repelled Munich’s resistance: another seven turnovers in 15 minutes, 18 in the end, which opened up space for Valencia from deep. Several threes fell to make it 71:88, and the Final Four participant ultimately imposed their game.

The Quotes:

Anton Gavel, Chefcoach FC Bayern Basketball: “Congratulations to Valencia on a well-deserved victory. We had 18 turnovers, and of the nine in the first half, six came almost in a row; they scored off every one of them. In the second half, we were down by five and had the momentum, but after two turnovers right in a row, it was gone in an instant. The turnovers killed us today. Defensively, we allowed 100 points—our defense was nowhere to be found. That’s too many points to win a game on the road—or even come close. Our problem was on defense. (…) The turnovers weren’t all due to Valencia’s pressure; sometimes we were just too careless with the ball, with long passes, or we simply lost it. But Valencia’s guards played very aggressive defense, so we couldn’t get our offense going and were too passive.”

Andreas Obst: “We had a lot of careless turnovers that shouldn’t have happened. But that’s also because we’re not aggressive on either end of the court—we’re not bringing the necessary physicality to the game. We’re also struggling to get our offense going because the defense is trying to disrupt us and is playing more physically. We need to hold our ground better—and do the same on defense. We can’t hope to win by playing pretty basketball; instead, we have to play tougher, disrupt the opponent with aggression, and prevent them from scoring easy baskets. Otherwise, the other team will build confidence. It’s not always about tactics—we need more aggression.”