Bitter evening for the German basketball clubs in the EuroLeague: Cup winners Bayern Munich and champions Alba Berlin clearly lost out on the 28th matchday of the premier class.
FC Bayern lost 74:102 (35:55) at Greek leaders Olympiakos Piraeus after a serious false start, Alba lost 74:96 (33:49) against Virtus Bologna from Italy in their own hall.
After the tip-off in the Peace And Friendship Stadium, the Munich team remained more than five minutes without a basket and ended up with a 0:15. The deficit grew until the half-time break, and after the break Olympiakos made the result even clearer.
“The task was too big without four players from the starting five,” said Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri. “We tried to find a way. We didn’t succeed.” Among others, Captain Vladimir Lucic, Nick Weiler-Babb and Corey Walden were missing.
In the end, Isaac Bonga came in as the top scorer for Bayern, who with a 11:17 record in 15th are still well behind the playoff places (1-8), with 16 points. Jaleen Smith was the best scorer in Berlin with twelve points, while American Kyle Weems impressed with 22 points at Bologna.
Coach Israel Gonzalez’s Alba side remain bottom of the table with just seven wins. For the Berliners it was the fourth bankruptcy in a row across all competitions. Next week we’re going to Bayern Munich in the EuroLeague.
Alba Berlin – Virtus Bologna 74:96 (33:49). – Best pitchers: Smith (12 points), Sikma (11), Olinde (10), Wetzell (10) for Berlin – Weems (22), Teodosic (21), Jaiteh (12), Lundberg (12) for Bologna. – Viewers: 8255
Olympiakos Piraeus – Bayern Munich 102:75 (35:55). – Best throwers: Vezenkov (18 points), McKissic (15), Larentzakis (14), Walkup (13), Sloukas (10) for Piraeus – Bonga (16), Giffey (11), Jaramaz (11) for Munich. – Viewers: 10,087