Vladimir Lucic didn’t want to get up anymore. There was the tree-tall guy lying on the parquet floor in the Pabellon Fuente De San Luis and covering his face with his hands. The captain of the Bayern basketball team had just missed the decisive shot; his three-pointer would have brought victory in the Euroleague at Valencia Basket and with it the realistic prospect of moving into the knockout round of the European premier class. Of all people, Lucic, who was given the nickname Che Guevara by his ex-coach Andrea Trinchieri, the Italian who was never at a loss for flowery words.
Because no one fights, moves forward and inspires their colleagues like the Bayern captain, who is actually made for such decisive moments. But the ball bounced from the inside of the ring back into the field and the Serbian international stumbled to the ground.
The Spaniards won with 70:68 points, which also narrowly secured them a direct comparison – Bayern won the first leg 85:84. Valencia has now overtaken Munich (13:17) in eleventh place in the table with four match days still to go with 14:16 wins and thus good cards for tenth place. The last person is entitled to the newly introduced playins, in which the last two playoff tickets are played between places seven to ten. The first six qualify directly after the end of the preliminary round. Partizan Belgrade is currently in tenth place (14:16 wins), FC Bayern has fallen back to 14th place.
Coach Pablo Laso found that the last throw was exemplary for the game: his team had it in their hands – and once again missed a great chance. It was one of the few successful actions by the guests: The last attack, Nick Weiler-Babb carries the ball, Lucic runs free, Serge Ibaka blocks his opponent and the Serb comes free to throw three seconds before the final siren. Of course, Laso could have looked for excuses, such as the fact that his best player, Devin Booker (16 points), twisted his ankle in the middle of the last quarter and limped off the field. Or get upset about some whistles from the referees. But the Spaniard seemed quite cheerful as he smiled and acknowledged his team’s fighting performance and his opponent’s good start.
Bayern’s goal is to fight for the European crown, and they will have to wait another year for that
At the beginning it was different, Laso couldn’t stop complaining because his players didn’t want to succeed. Especially with the rebounds, actually one of Munich’s strengths, the Spaniards gained a clear advantage and a 28:15 lead after the first quarter. From then on, Bayern ran after them, fought their way back into the game and even took the lead with 58:57. After which – more in a stranglehold than a game – both teams made mistakes after mistakes. In the end, the Munich team lost unfortunately.
In theory, the playoffs are still possible with four games, but the opponents speak against it. Maccabi Tel Aviv, FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos Athens will be visiting the BMW Park in that order before heading to Monaco, but all of these opponents are contenders for the Final Four. And the Munich program remains brutal. Imagine that in football: Bundesliga on Sunday, games in the top European league on Wednesday and Friday and Bundesliga again on Sunday – unthinkable, everyday life for basketball professionals. After all, things are going as planned nationally: the cup has already been bagged, FC Bayern are second in the table and the top favorite for the German championship title, and the Munich hall is almost always full with 6,400 spectators.
The goal is different: to be at the top of Europe, to fight for the crown with the best. That’s why they’re moving to the SAP Garden next season, which has a capacity of 14,500 spectators. They’ve brought in a coach in Laso who knows how to win the Euroleague, and they’ll continue to strengthen the squad. And as things stand, they will have to wait another season for that.