Bayern Munich’s basketball team came out on top in a thriller against Würzburg Baskets (70:69). The deciding factor was a player who, ironically, got off to a bad start.
After their surprising defeat against the MBC last week, Bayern were forced to respond. Yet Head Coach Gordon Herbert still made changes to his starting five, putting his trust in Ivan Kharchenkov and Danko Brankovic from the outset, with Napier and Edwards remaining on the bench at the start.
However, the home side found things quite difficult without their two star guards. By contrast, Würzburg got off to a red-hot start. Two threes by Seljaas and Jackson gave the club from Franconia an early lead. After five minutes, Herbert ended the experiment with the starting five, something that Edwards promptly acknowledged with a bucket from outside. Yet Würzburg remained on the front foot. Two threes by Lewis put the visitors 10:18 in front. Bayern struck back with an 8:0 run to end the period.
In the second period, Bayern continued to try to play through creative center Edwards, who contributed ten points in the first half, but was just as cold from the three-point line as the rest of the team (2/12). Lewis II did better again, stretching Würzburg’s lead to +4 with just under 80 seconds left in the half (28:32).
The second half developed into an open battle. Andi Obst opened the quarter with a three – but it was to be Bayern’s only one in this half. Würzburg, on the other hand, showed more flexibility in offense, cleverly exploiting the mismatches that Seljaas generated under the basket. A lay-up by Phillips increased the visitors’ lead to +5 (48:53) shortly before the end.
However, Munich did not want to admit defeat so easily in front of the home crowd. Edwards equalized with a three midway through the period, after which Napier (who had not made an impression in the first half) scored with a lay-up and added a foul to put his side 60:57 in front. Würzburg went ahead again with half a minute left on the clock after Owen Klassen made up for a missed lay-up with a put-back slam-dunk. However, Napier had the last word again, draining a lay-up from a dribble to win the game.
Bayern now faces the trip to Virtus Bologna in the EuroLeague (9 p.m.) on Wednesday. Würzburg Baskets do not face another game in the German league until Saturday, when they travel to Academics Heidelberg (6:30 p.m./live on Dyn).