After the Baskets Oldenburg, the basketball players from FC Bayern Munich have also reached the final in the BBL Cup. For Alba Berlin, the dream of defending the title burst. In the Top Four tournament, Munich won a close semi-final on Saturday (February 18, 2023) against the double winner with 83:77 (40:38). The final will take place on Sunday at 3 p.m.
In a hard-fought but rarely top-class duel, Bayern were ahead for almost the entire season. However, it remained tight until the end. In the end, however, Alba lacked the strength to turn the game around. The best pitcher at Bayern was Cassius Winston with 21 points. Jaleen Smith scored a strong 31 points for the Berliners.
The final was overshadowed by Augustine Rubit’s injury. The power forward had to leave the floor with a suspected serious Achilles tendon injury and threatens to miss Bayern for a long time. “We will also play for him tomorrow“announced Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri with a view to the final.
Host Oldenburg demands Bayern
In the first game of the day, Baskets Oldenburg were the first team to reach the final in the Top Four. The 2015 cup winner prevailed in his own arena after a strong fightback by MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg with 92:86 (37:49). The team of coach Pedro Calles made up for a 16-point deficit. The Oldenburgs’ best pitcher was DeWayne Russell with 26 points. Justin Johnson shone in Ludwigsburg with 19 points.
DeWayne Russell (4 EWE Baskets Oldenburg) vs. Eddy Edigin (27 MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg)
Oldenburg’s Russell towers over in catching up
Oldenburg got off to a good start in their own hall and quickly pulled away to 8:2. But then the Ludwigsburg team improved and scored in an impressive manner, especially from a distance. Before the break, the giants sunk nine of 17 threes – at the break Ludwigsburg was up twelve points (49:37). Also because the baskets made too many ball losses. Above all, Hassani Gravett, who was only signed last week, has not yet bonded with his new teammates.
After the change of sides, Oldenburg increased. Led by the outstanding Russell, the Lower Saxony continued to shorten the gap and took the lead again in the final quarter at a score of 73:72 for the first time since the beginning phase. Oldenburg dropped to nine points (89:80), but Ludwigsburg came back to three points (86:89). But in the end, the EWE Baskets prevailed, as they did in the league game.