The Bayern basketball players no longer have it in their own hands, but want to fight to the end for the small chance of making the play-in games in the premier class. However, they suffered another setback against Maccabi Tel Aviv – although things actually looked pretty good in the fourth quarter
The FC Bayern Munich basketball team have lost sight of the Euroleague play-offs for the time being. The German cup winners lost 74:89 (35:48) at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv on Friday and must now hope for defeats by several opponents three matchdays before the end of the group stage in order to clinch a play-in spot. The hosts’ best scorer was Leandro Bolmaro with 21 points.
Bayern are currently fourteenth with 13 wins. Partizan Belgrade, Valencia Basket, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Olimpia Milano are just ahead of Munich. The Bundesliga club is battling with these teams and Zalgiris Kaunas, who are level on points, for tenth place, which entitles them to take part in the Play-Ins – Bayern only has top opponents ahead of them in the three remaining games (FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos Athens, AS Monaco).
Munich went into the match without their top scorer from the previous game. Devin Booker twisted his ankle in the final quarter of Tuesday’s bitter 68:70 loss to direct rivals Valencia Baskets. Since Danko Brankovic (and three-point specialist Andi Obst) were also still out, there was a lack of power at the board. Nevertheless, the home side got off to a strong start. However, it did not take long for the Israeli club to get back on level terms. It was a completely different story in the second half, however, where Maccabi proved its strength in finishing. The visitors mainly scored from beyond the three-point line and pulled away from Bayern.
Bayern’s comeback is not enough
In the third quarter, Munich turned on the heat, was focused in finishing and was also more assured in defense. They went into the final quarter trailing by just one point. Bayern quickly went ahead in that quarter. The home side was 69:65 in front with just under eight minutes remaining, but Tel Aviv, which still hopes to make the play-offs directly, began its final spurt: An 18:0 run gave it a comfortable lead again and decided the game. Ex-Bayer Wade Baldwin IV also repeatedly put the home side under pressure in this phase, finishing with 15 points. Maccabi’s top scorer was Jasiel Rivero with 17 points in just twelve minutes.
Munich still has a mathematical chance of reaching the final round, but coach Pablo Laso’s team has not only lost the head-to-head tie against Valencia. “It will be difficult, of course, we only have ourselves to blame, we had everything in our hands,” said Bayern’s Elias Harris on MagentaSport.
