The basketball players from FC Bayern Munich stood up to the currently best team in Europe, but still had to admit defeat to Real Madrid.
The Bundesliga basketball team lost against the Euroleague defending champions and current league leaders 71:92 (36:45). Bayern suffered their third defeat in a row in the European Cup.
After the death of football legend Franz Beckenbauer, both teams wore T-shirts with Beckenbauer’s name on the back during warm-ups, and a minute’s silence was held before the game.
Bayern were overwhelmed by Madrid’s offense at the start and conceded 15 points in the first three and a half minutes. An 8-0 run brought them back into the game, but at the half-time break the Munich team were still behind 18:24. The guests also scored strongly from outside in the second half, pulled ahead by up to 15 points and were ahead 45:36 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Munich team defended more aggressively, but the defending Euroleague champions continued to pull ahead by double digits thanks to their individual quality. In the final section, Bayern reduced their deficit to up to five points thanks to a few three-pointers and a strong Sylvain Francisco (14 points). But too many turnovers and a 20:3 run by Madrid prevented the comeback.
Special game for Pablo Laso
It was a special game for Munich coach Pablo Laso: The 56-year-old Spaniard coached Real for eleven years and won the Euroleague twice and the Spanish championship six times with the Madrid team. Real’s current coach Chuso Mateo worked as Laso’s assistant coach for eight years.
Like last week, there is also a double game day in the Euroleague this week. The Munich team continues on Thursday with an away game against Fenerbahçe Istanbul.