FC Bayern fear revenge from the Catalans after the basketball sensation from Barcelona.
The top favorite in the EuroLeague was “upset” after Bayern Munich’s impressive 90:75 (48:35) in Spain, said coach Andrea Trinchieri: “Your goal is to destroy us on Wednesday. So we have to put our helmets on and be ready again be.”
Then Bayern receive the number one of the main round after the surprising equalizer in the play-off series “best of five” for the third game in their own hall. “It would not be wise to think that we can play better,” Trinchieri warned his team at MagentaSport. The Italian was “very happy” with the strong performance, but said: “I can classify the victory well. I’m very grounded.”
Before duels number three and four on Wednesday (8:30 p.m.) and Friday (8:45 p.m./each MagentaSport) in the Audi Dome, Barca remain the clear favorites to reach the Final Four in Belgrade (May 19 to 21) . “This is the best team, the best coach, the best system,” said Trinchieri. “They are programmed to win the title.”
But his weakened team now knows how to deal with the top team. She has, in Trinchieri’s words, cracked the “Magic Cube” of Barcelona. “We all pushed our limits,” said Deshaun Thomas, Munich’s best thrower with 25 points. Ognjen Jaramaz added that the strong defense was “the main reason for this success”.
The Catalan newspaper Sport was amazed: “Bayern are storming the Palau.” Mundo Deportivo saw Barca ‘collapse’. And the visibly impressed coach Sarunas Jasikevicius warned his squad angrily: “It’s no walk in the park!”