The Bavarians won their last main round home game against Red Star Belgrade and reached the Euroleague play-offs. Alba Berlin, meanwhile, missed out on a surprise
The FC Bayern Munich basketball players have qualified early for the Euroleague play-offs. On Friday, the Bundesliga basketball team won against their direct rivals Red Star Belgrade with 82:57 (42:33) and recorded their highest win of the season in the European Cup. With a record of 13:12 wins, Andrea Trinchieri’s team can no longer be ousted from eighth place with three games left to play.
The Munich team did not find their rhythm at first, but Augustine Rubit kept his team in the game. While the guests had slight advantages in the first quarter, Bayern turned the game around thanks to 27 points in the second. At half-time, the Basketball Bundesliga team was ahead 42:33.
After the break, the hosts continued to defend strongly and did not allow any points in the first almost five minutes. The Bavarians ended the third quarter with a 13:3 run, pulled away to a 20-point difference and decided the game early. Augustine Rubit (22 points) and Deshaun Thomas (16) were the best Munich players.
For the Bavarians, the game against Belgrade was the last home game of the main round. From 4 to 8 April, three away games are scheduled: against Fenerbahce Istanbul, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Real Madrid. Then Munich can even improve its starting position.
Alba misses surprise
Alba Berlin just missed a surprise in the Euroleague. On Friday evening, the Berliners lost 77-87 (39-36) at defending champions Anadolu Efes Istanbul despite a strong performance for a long time. After the 15th defeat in the 26th game, the Berliners have hardly any chance of a play-off place. Two games are still to be played. Best Berlin scorers were Oscar da Silva with 20 and Maodo Lo with 15 points.
Coach Israel Gonzalez again had to cope with several absences. Besides the long-term injured Marcus Eriksson and the corona cases Luke Sikma and Tamir Blatt, centre Ben Lammers was also absent due to muscular problems. In their place, winger Louis Olinde returned after a seven-week injury layoff.
Three days after the surprise win at Fenerbahce, Alba started very well against Anadolu. The Berliners made speed and pulled away to 22:9 in the first quarter. But then the Istanbul star ensemble woke up and defended more intensively in the heated atmosphere, coming back point by point.
Immediately after the change of ends, the hosts took the lead for the first time. A 0:10 run in the middle of the third quarter ensured that the Berliners now had to constantly chase a deficit. Alba fought and came back to within one point (69:70) a good five minutes before the end. In the final phase, however, the guests were no longer able to hold out against the experienced Istanbul players.