basketball
Playoff setback for Bayern basketball players in the Euroleague
Bayern under coach Pablo Lasos suffered a clear defeat in Istanbul. photo
© Angelika Warmuth/dpa
A weak third quarter cost FC Bayern Munich an important victory in the Basketball Euroleague. The people of Munich can’t stop an American.
The basketball players at FC Bayern Munich have suffered a setback in the fight for the Euroleague playoffs. At Anadolu Efes Istanbul, coach Pablo Laso’s team lost clearly with 86:109 (49:53). With a record of 12:16 wins, they missed out Bayern want to reduce the gap to the last playoff place in tenth place. Due to the lost direct comparison against the Turkish club, the Munich team even slipped further down the table.
Bayern seemed to have the game under control just three and a half minutes before halftime. The Munich team led 46:40 thanks to the accurate Vladimir Lucic and Carsen Edwards. Then the hosts from Istanbul with the two German professionals Tibor Pleiss and Justus Hollatz took advantage of a weak phase in Munich and turned the match around (53:49/20th minute).
The 2021 and 2022 Euroleague champions continued to put Bayern under pressure after the break and quickly extended their lead. With the Laso team, however, hardly anything worked. The Bundesliga team went into the final quarter with a 23-point deficit and had no chance in the fourth half. At no time did the guests get the outstanding Shane Larkin under control. The 31-year-old was the top scorer with 28 points. Edwards scored the best for Bayern with 19 points.