The basketball players of FC Bayern Munich secured their 18th Bundesliga victory with a deserved 83:62 against their former big Bavarian rival Brose Bamberg and thus defended their lead in the table.
Especially in the first half you had to ask yourself whether a team that had been shaken up by an extremely unsettled season, including a change of coach, was making a guest appearance. A hopeless comparison with an opponent of high international quality? At least in the first 20 minutes there was nothing to see. In fact, it was almost like the old days when the two arch-rivals fought energetic, close duels. Ultimately, however, it came as expected: Munich were clearly superior.
Bamberg is currently in eleventh place in the table, six points behind eighth place, which entitles them to the knockout phase of the German championship. The primary goal of Upper Franconia can only be the playoff qualification – and at least the performance in the first three quarters gives reason for hope. Brose has a very good first formation, which caused problems for the favorite from Munich for a long time. Above all, Justin Robinson, who is only 1.73 meters tall but extremely agile, attacked the Munich team with fast dribbling and 16 points. Under the basket, Bamberg’s national player Christian Sengfelder impressed with 14 points and nine rebounds. At half time, the guests deservedly led 35:34, but after the break the difference between these teams became apparent.
The people of Munich have been shaken by another outbreak of corona in the team and coaching staff, which is why head coach Andrea Trinchieri and captain Nihad Djedovic were missing. They also competed without the injured Nick Weiler-Babb and the rested Othello Hunter and Corey Walden, but they were significantly better and, above all, deeper. Deshaun Thomas could hardly be stopped and with 20 points top scorer Andreas Obst, Ognjen Jaramaz (eleven points each), Augustine Rubit (12) and Darrun Hilliard, who collected 13 points and was in impressive shape, scored in double digits.
Paul Zipser, who after 15 seconds of play last Wednesday against Hamburg, played for the first time after his long break due to an emergency brain operation, was particularly celebrated. Assistant coach Demond Greene, who deputized for Trinchieri and celebrated his first win as head coach, was particularly happy about Zipser’s return and the second half, in which his team increased the intensity and was clearly superior.