At the start of the playoff round of the best 16 teams in the Basketball Champions League, the Baskets Bonn demonstrated their robustness in a physical game against Galatasaray Istanbul.
On Tuesday (January 23, 2024) they kept Baskets Bonn against Galatasaray Istanbul with 89:76 (24:25, 23:14, 15:17, 27:20). The top scorer for the Bonn team was Glynn Watson (23 points), and Sam Griesel (20) also gave his team a decisive lead.
Tight start in Bonn: Griesel carries the baskets
It was an extremely competitive first quarter with high physical intensity. Bonn certainly had problems with the Turks, who were in a good mood and took an early lead. The Baskets then managed to equalize with a three-pointer to make it 8:8.
Bonn were finally in the game and vigorously stood up to Galatasaray until the end of the very tight first section. The baskets were particularly carried by Sam Griesel, who scored eleven points in the first quarter and hit all six of his shots from the field.
However, because there was sometimes a bit of a lack of rhythm in the creation of good throwing positions and the Bonn defense was occasionally broken up well by Istanbul, the first quarter narrowly went to Galatasaray.
Baskets buy Istanbul’s edge in the second quarter
The start of the second section offered the other Bonn residents the opportunity to support Griesel in his work. Because Brian Fobbs, Harald Frey and other Baskets players had not yet really reached Griesel’s offensive level. But then: Fobbs scored with a three-pointer to make it 27:27, and continued to build steam afterwards, and Bonn fought for the lead.
Galatasaray also impressively blocked one or two basket attempts, but the Bonn team didn’t let that deter them. Griesel gave Bonn a six-point lead with two free throws. A little later he increased his own points tally to 18. Griesel’s shooting rate was still an incredible 100 percent – his first failed attempt came shortly before the end of the second quarter.
And the American also performed impressively defensively – as did the entire Bonn team. Head coach Roel Moors’ team acted cleverly, took the edge off Istanbul and temporarily took a deserved double-digit lead.
Istanbul annoys Bonn with its harshness in duels
Noah Kirkwood also got going in the second half, at the latest with his successful three-point throw to make it 53:44. However, Istanbul entangled the Bonn team in some close, sometimes borderline duels. And in a strong phase, this harshness definitely took the wind out of the home team’s sails. Bonn had a few turnovers and Istanbul was able to exploit several fast breaks. There was an equalization.
The Istanbul team’s drive subsided just in time and Bonn got more space again. Griesel led his team energetically, and in defense the Baskets – cheered on by the fans in the hall in this critical phase – were once again ahead in terms of rebounds.
Baskets prove themselves against Galatasaray crowbar
Thanks to the decent final spurt in the third quarter, Bonn went into the final section with a 62:56 lead. The strong performance of center Thomas Kennedy, who now had 13 points and eight rebounds, was also important there. A perfect block in defense by Kennedy, which his teammates at the front were able to stage more often, made the Bonn fans in the stands cheer.
Because of a technical and unsportsmanlike foul, Istanbul’s Klemen Pepilic called it a day. Bonn stayed cool at first, Savion Flagg increased the lead to 71:63 with a free throw with six and a half minutes left in the game. But then Istanbul relied again on hard contact in the duels and fought back as best they could.
However, in a way that continued to be close to the limit or went beyond it. Coach Zvezdan Mitrovic also made a mistake with the referees and had to leave the court. Bonn then benefited from the many free throws and an exciting Glynn Watson – and earned the victory.
