With a tour de force, the German basketball cup winner Bayern Munich extended its lead in the Bundesliga.
Coach Andrea Trinchieri’s team snatched an almost lost game from the fire with their 91:82 (77:77, 42:30) victory after extra time and is now two points ahead of pursuer Telekom thanks to defending champion Alba Berlin Baskets Bonn. The Rhinelanders lost 77:89 (43:51) against the champions, who kept up with the leading group with their second league win in a row.
In the top third of the table, the MHP giants Ludwigsburg advanced into the leading quartet with a 80:71 (34:36) win over the Frankfurt Skyliners. Kellerkind s.Oliver Würzburg set themselves apart from Baskets Oldenburg, at least temporarily, with a narrow 90:89 (44:45) victory against the former series champion Brose Bamberg.
Munich celebrated their fourth league success in a row in Braunschweig. The front runner also achieved their tenth win in their 13th competitive game since the turn of the year.
In Braunschweig, three days after the clear EuroLeague home win against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Munich lost its rhythm after another sovereign performance in the third quarter and gambled away its comfortable lead. Up to around three minutes before the end of the game, the ex-champion was even ten points behind, but saved himself in the final second despite an unsuccessful three-point shot by his top scorer Deshaun Thomas and played his class safely again.
Bayern’s best pitcher was again outstanding Thomas with 23 points and Andreas Obst with 17 points. In Braunschweig’s team, David Krämer was the most successful player with 22 points. His teammate Owen Klassen had 14 points.
Munich are now two plus points ahead of Bonn and also have one game less than the team from the former federal capital. Bonn could only keep up against Berlin until the middle of the second quarter. Best guest pitcher was Yovel Zoosman with 18 points. The home team’s most accurate player was Parker Jackson-Cartwright with 20 points.