And then Leon Radosevic also blocked Youssoupha Fall. Now, it’s not as if Bayern’s center doesn’t stop a generic throw every now and then, but this player is 2.21m tall, Fall can almost shove the ball into the basket while standing. But not if Radosevic stands in the way. At 2.08 meters, he is the tallest in the Munich basketball team and weighs more than 110 kilograms on the court, but compared to the sling fall he is as flexible as a gymnast. Elie Okobo, also under contract with Asvel Villeurbanne and transferred from the Brooklyn Nets from the NBA before the season, felt the effects of this. A cunning and nimble guard who is difficult to stop on his way to the basket, Okobo ran into the slightly less nimble Radosevic on several occasions on Tuesday night. No matter how big or heavy, it’s not fun for any attacker to play against Radosevic. But the 31-year-old isn’t one to draw attention to himself with spectacle, but the German-Croatian does his job reliably and effectively – and was instrumental in Bayern’s 77-68 away win in the Euroleague in Lyon.
Radosevic collected five points and four rebounds in just under 15 minutes of play, there were more striking numbers. Like that of Augustine Rubit, who managed 17 points and ten rebounds, or the eleven points of playmaker Ognjen Jaramaz, the ten of long-range shooter Andreas Obst. What is more striking, however, is how the team has played since Radosevic returned to full strength. Security is back, the defense plays better, the transition game is smoother, the security in the game is increasing. All the parameters that Munich lacked in the year-end sprint fit again.
Radosevic is a prime example of a team player, success is more important to him than his own merits
It was not for nothing that coach Andrea Trinchieri focused on the collective after the triumph at Villeurbanne: “The team performed as a team again. Everyone was ready to help, to participate and to win the game.” Radosevic is a prime example of such a team player, he subordinates his own merits to the success of the team. Ultimately, it’s players like him who make the difference in the long run: fighters and workers in the service of the collective.
Trinchieri had had to do without this for a long time, exactly 196 days. At the beginning of June, in the fourth playoff semi-final against Ludwigsburg, Radosevic twisted his ankle. At first he thought all tapes were gone, then he put himself back in the service of the team and struggled through the last two finals against Berlin. In the last game he was on the floor for almost 31 minutes and was even the best thrower with 16 points – but then the joint was finally over and an operation was unavoidable.
It went well, Radosevic planned for the start of the season. But an infection slowed him down again, there was another operation and, to make matters worse, a corona infection in mid-November. Now he’s back, as a newcomer, as he joked, he still has to get to know his teammates. Apparently that worked out well. Alba Berlin is coming to the Euroleague home game in the Audi Dome on Friday (8.45 p.m.), Radosevic will be ready. It remains to be seen whether Corey Walden will be able to play again: the guard twisted his ankle in Villeurbanne but stayed on the bench in the second half. To be on the safe side – the people of Munich have had enough bad experiences.
