There they were, Alex Abrines and Nikola Mirotic, in the midst of the 6,500 enthusiastically cheering people in the sold-out Audi Dome. Discussing loudly, Abrines waved his arms, Mirotic shrugged. Almost five minutes had already been played in the second half and the scoreboard showed a measly 25 points for FC Barcelona. For the best team in the main round, for this offensively strong and noble staffed squad.
As a reminder: Abrines and Mirotic, for example, were brought out of the NBA three years ago, Mirotic, who was born in Montenegrin with a Spanish passport, even gave up a significantly higher-paid contract in the NBA. Nevertheless, with a rumored annual salary of more than four million euros, he is the best-paid professional in Europe – and probably also the best player. But even the 31-year-old didn’t have an answer against this FC Bayern team, who played like unleashed. Ultimately, all efforts were in vain, Barça had to accept the equalizer to 2: 2 in the Euroleague quarter-final series with the 52:59 defeat.
Now the Catalans are fighting for a place in the Final Four in the decisive fifth game of the best-of-five series next Tuesday (9 p.m.) at the Palau Blaugrana. The minimum goal, because this squad, which includes Abrines and Mirotic by no means the only top players with NBA histories, was put together to win the European crown. The last title win was an incredible 12 years ago for a club with this self-image.
Of course, this prospect after this performance is by no means utopian for FC Bayern, for a squad that has reached the quarter-finals for the second time in a row is a great success. It would be the next milestone in the history of the department, even if one should be careful with superlatives, one can say: a small sensation. The hosts immediately showed that they were no longer surprised by the power of the Spanish offensive, as they did in the 66:75 defeat on Wednesday. The first quarter went to Munich with 18:13 points, at the break they led 36:25.
After the change, the advantage increased to 19 points, before the last quarter it was 14 (50:34), before the Catalans came even closer in the final stages. It was a triumph of the collective over the individually better guests, especially the defensive work made Barça shrug their shoulders again and again. Coach Sarunas Jasikevicius found clear words for his team’s presentation: “I was ashamed of what my players showed today.” Without relieving himself of his duty: “It was my job to prepare the team for the game, that too was shameful.”
“The sky’s the limit when a team responds to a defeat like that,” exults coach Andrea Trinchieri
As expected, the analysis of the Munich colleague sounded friendlier, Andrea Trinchieri outdid himself in praising what is otherwise not necessarily his favorite discipline, because the perfectionist always discovers something in need of improvement. Not so on Tuesday evening: “The whole team gave a maximum performance. I enjoyed everything today, the commitment, the concentration, the attention.”
As a result, Trinchieri did not want to single out any player, especially as each individual had indeed contributed. Nick Weiler-Babb stood out a bit, because the defense specialist is also getting better and better on offense and was the top scorer with 12 points. FCB managing director Marko Pesic compared the playmaker to a Swiss army knife that can be used anywhere: “He can play anywhere and is getting better and better in attack.”
The defensive, meanwhile, was once again the showpiece of this Bayern side, led by veteran Othello Hunter, the only player to have won the Euroleague before. The fact that Bayern knew how to nip Barcelona’s attacking force in the bud made even the critical coach rejoice: “When a team responds like that to a defeat, the sky’s the limit.” He couldn’t find the words, he decided, maybe a bottle of wine would help loosen his tongue again, “or two”.
For the game in Barcelona, however, nothing will change in the outsider status of his selection, after all, the eighth in the main round will be guesting at the Primus: “We have to go into the jaws of the shark,” said Trinchieri before he went in search of a noble droplet .