The basketball players from Bayern Munich narrowly won the Bundesliga game against cellar-dwelling Skyliners Frankfurt, thereby regaining the lead in the table for the time being.
For Bayern coach Gordon Herbert, the catch-up game from the eighth matchday was all about his own past. The Canadian was on the sidelines for the club from Hesse three times for a total of almost ten years (2001-2004, 2010/11 and 2013-2019).
Emotional reunion: Herbert faces his former club
However, the 65-year-old had to do without sporting gifts. The home side started the game on fire, making ten threes in the first half alone. The visitors, who were without their top scorer Carsen Edwards, held their own with high-percentage shots inside the arc. Shortly before half-time, they pulled ahead for the first time with a 7:2 run (44:52).
However, it remained competitive after the break. Despite Bayern’s 13-point lead at one stage (56:69), Frankfurt did not let itself be shaken off so easily and closed the gap to -6 thanks to a half-distance shot from top scorer Malik Parsons (26, 11/15).
However, Munich put an abrupt end to the home side’s momentum. Obst (13) and Giffey (22) stretched the gap to +15 again within a minute (68:83), which Frankfurt was ultimately unable to recover from. For Bayern, Ivan Kharchenkov had what could have been his best game of the season, scoring 20 points with 8/11 shots.
The win means that Bayern has moved back into first place, overtaking Baskets Würzburg for the time being. Munich’s next challenge in the league comes next Sunday, when they host last season’s runners-up Alba Berlin in a top-of-the-table clash.
Skyliners Frankfurt are also back in action at the same time. The first Bundesliga game of the new year sees the club travel to Niners Chemnitz.
