FC Bayern‘s basketball players suffered their first defeat in the Euroleague: the German double winner lost to defending champion Panathinaikos Athens after a mixed performance with 79:94 points, but knew how to do well, especially in the second half, and definitely had a chance to win the result to design better. Ultimately, however, the great individual class of the top favorite was the decisive factor in winning the title again.
As in Munich’s BMW Park, a brand new LED video glass floor has been installed in the 18,500-seater Oaka Arena in the north of Athens – it was the first game in the European premier class on the glittering floor. But Dimitrios Giannakopoulos, the billionaire and eccentric club owner of the Athens club, didn’t just spend a lot of money on the new indoor surface. The already well-stocked squad, which includes top players like Kendrick Nunn (came from the Washington Wizards a year ago), Kostas Sloukas (most valuable player when they won the title in May), the French national center Mathias Lessort and Juancho Hernangomez (the Spanish national player came before one year after seven NBA seasons from Toronto) was further strengthened.
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Most recently, club owner Giannakopoulos made it possible to sign Cedi Osman from the San Antonio Spurs, who decided after 494 NBA games for the Greek Euroleague title holder – and thus even against an offer from the Los Angeles Lakers. In addition, his Turkish compatriot Omer Yurtseven came from overseas (Utah Jazz) as well as playmaker Lorenzo Brown from Maccabi Tel Aviv, who also leads the game for the Spanish national team.
The Munich team quickly fell 0:10 behind and was chasing this deficit from now on
The Munich team, although they got off to a great start in front of 11,500 fans at SAP Garden with a 97:89 win against the similarly strong Real Madrid (Athens’ final opponent last year), were impressed: Panathinaikos quickly moved ahead to 10:0, before the again strong Johannes Voigtmann and top scorer Devin Booker (15 points) contributed the first points for the guests. Bayern slowly improved, persistently shortening the lead led by the lively Carsen Edwards (14), but chasing the early deficit in the first half.
In addition, given their immense breadth of first-class players, the hosts seemingly effortlessly managed to counter Bayern’s every strong phase. In particular, the massive Lessort, who played for Munich in the 2019/20 season and has developed enormously since then, as well as Athens’ top scorer Nunn, always kept the gap in the double-digit range. At least Munich’s sniper Andreas Obst managed to reduce the deficit to 13 points (34:47) with a three-pointer.
But whatever coach Gordon Herbert had come up with for the second half, the Greeks initially had an answer to everything. The massive Athenians were particularly superior when it came to baskets and grabbed significantly more balls: The crucial difference, as the FCB coach also noted: “We were within six points, but gave them too many rebounds and therefore second chances.” Herbert has already instilled impressive resilience in his team, with a lot of patience and an increasingly toxic defense the guests fought their way forward: Oscar da Silva scored with a three-pointer to make it 58:66 before the last quarter – and suddenly the deficit was only still in single digits.
Such a short distance is not only easy to catch up with, it is also important for the minds of the players – on both sides. The Munich team sensed their chance, the Athenians had to ask themselves how this could happen given their clear superiority for a long time. After Booker made it 65:70, the long one-sided game was completely open again, but it was the great individual class of the opponent that ultimately tipped the balance in favor of the top favorite. The defeat at the defending champions didn’t bring any points, but it brought the realization that this Bayern team, which was missing three players injured or injured in Niels Giffey, Elias Harris and Kevin Yebo, can also keep up with the big players. In addition, the 23-year-old director Yam Madar, who got a lot of playing time and scored eleven points, gave the first proof of his suitability for the Euroleague.
The next test is already in three days, in the third competition of a demanding season: On Sunday, Telekom Baskets Bonn awaits in the cup round of 16 (6 p.m./Dyn), it is the first knockout game for Bayern.
