Bayern Munich lived up to its role as favorite when the basketball world champions met again and started the new Euroleague season with a win. The well-known cup winners defeated their German rivals Alba Berlin on Thursday evening (October 5, 2023) with 80:68 (36:44).
“We didn’t play the basketball we wanted to play in the first half. We tripped ourselves up.”said Obst at MagentaSport. After halftime, said the sniper, his team arrived “We came out with a good attitude, we defended well. That helped us a lot.” Thiemann stated: “Against a team as deep as Munich, it’s difficult to last 40 minutes.”
The best thrower in Munich’s BMW Park was Sylvain Francisco with 17 points. 25 days after the sensational World Cup triumph in Manila, Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga and Niels Giffey from FC Bayern, who was unable to take part due to illness, as well as Alba’s captain Johannes Thiemann were specially recognized before tip-off.
Gold and black basketball as a souvenir
The golden boys of the DBB each received a gold and black basketball as a souvenir from the hands of President Ingo Weiss of the German Basketball Association, Bayern President Herbert Hainer, managing director Marko Pesic and record national player Patrick Femerling.
At the start of the game, Alba got off to a strong start, repeatedly stealing the ball from Bayern and scoring reliably in the zone. Thiemann quickly scored ten points, Bonga shone with the rebound and Obst from the three-point line. Although Bayern dominated on the offensive board with their size advantages, star signing Serge Ibaka was back after a rest, the more alert and quicker guests surprisingly pulled away at half-time.
However, Bayern didn’t let this go and took the lead right at the start of the third quarter with a 14-2 run. Bayern’s playmaker Francisco turned up the heat and scored from all positions, while Munich’s superiority in rebounds played into their hands, meaning that Berlin couldn’t get close in the final quarter.
Munich wants to get into the playoffs
For Bayern, who made it to the quarter-finals in 2021 and 2022, the opening win is the first step on the way to reaching the playoffs as their goal. After finishing 15th last year, the Munich team caused a stir in the summer with spectacular additions, including successful coach Pablo Laso and former NBA champion Serge Ibaka.
The Berliners, 16th in the past season, are currently in a state of upheaval following the departures of world champion Maodo Lo and former captain Luke Sikma and are likely to be in the playoff race or even the Final Four next year in their own hall (24th to 24th). May 26th) hardly have anything to do.