Despite trailing for a long time, FC Bayern Basketball managed to beat the Bamberg Baskets 84:82 in the end. This was due in part to their accuracy from outside in the final quarter.
Munich managed to beat their guests from Bamberg 84:82 thanks to a strong final quarter, although the Baskets were in the lead for long stretches of the game. The top scorers for Munich were Carsen Edwards (17 points, six assists) and Danko Brankovic (15 points). New signing Justus Hollatz made a more than solid debut and scored nine points. Bamberg was particularly convincing, especially Noah Locke (19 points) and the two big men Keyshawn Feazell and Filip Stanic (eleven rebounds) with 15 points each.
Bamberg got off to the slightly better start: Although it was not dangerous from outside (2/12 in the first half), it repeatedly snapped up second chances (seven offensive rebounds in the first period). Munich, by contrast, was not in its flow and its attacks often looked patchy. After around seven minutes, world champion Hollatz then came on for the first time. Despite the weak first period, however, Bayern was only 17:21 behind.
Bamberg took a half-time lead
Bayern also had a tough time at the start of the second quarter, whereas the visitors were able to score consistently, although they did not manage to open up a lead of more than seven points. However, a slam-dunk by Brankovic enabled Munich, which defended weakly, to equalize at 28:28 with around four minutes left in the second period. Yet Bamberg then repeatedly found solutions up to half-time and so went in at 35:41 ahead.
In it, Munich was able to rely mainly on Edwards, through whom a lot happened in offense. But they didn’t get any closer at first: Bamberg kept on scoring easy points. However, since the visitors continued to struggle from the three-point line and threw away a number of balls, Munich took the lead after a Hollatz three with 50 seconds remaining in the period (56:54). The game was then level going into the final period.
Bayern pulls it out in the final quarter
At the start of the final quarter, Munich scored two buckets from outside, but Bamberg’s Locke was able to immediately hit back from beyond the arc. Yet the home side remained hot from beyond the arc and, after a three by Lucic, led by 73:64 with around five-and-a-half minutes remaining. However, Bamberg did not let itself be shaken off and, after six quick points, trailed by just three points with around a minute left on the clock. However, they were not able to overtake the home side again, even though Ibrahim Watson-Boye was able to reduce the deficit to 82:79 from the line with 16 seconds left on the clock. Locke cut the deficit to 84:82 on the buzzer, but Munich ran out winners. Bamberg now has its next chance of winning in the German league at home: The MBC is its guest in Upper Franconia (Saturday, 6:30 p.m. at Dyn).
