The German team has reinvigorated its hopes of clinching a play-in berth with a fine run
Resurgent Bayern eyeing postseason under lucid Laso
Article
4 Mins read
Written off from the playoff picture by most pundits after a tough run of games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, Bayern Munich bounced straight back into it with four wins in the last six, culminating in Friday’s gritty 64-58 home victory over Zalgiris Kaunas.
It was a masterclass defensive performance orchestrated by Bayern’s shrewd head coach Pablo Laso, who drew on his wealth of experience to keep steering the German team towards the postseason – which looked highly unlikely only a month or so ago.
Bayern had revived its faltering challenge with a rip-roaring 112-109 home win over Baskonia in Round 26 and following a tough 72-76 setback against visiting Olympiacos Piraeus, the Bavarian franchise turned a corner with a stunning last-gasp 78-79 win at Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade.
Bayern’s confidence was boosted by lifting the German Cup during the EuroLeague break, with emphatic wins over Bamberg (81-62) and Ulm (81-65) sealing the season’s first trophy. On Friday, Bayern replicated that kind of grit and mettle forcing Zalgiris into submission, much to Laso’s delight.
“Defensively it was one of our best games, we contested every situation and usually it’s not a lot of fun playing a game like that,” Laso said at the post-game press conference. “They are very tough and very physical, they have players who really know how to play the game. We held them to 21 points in the first half and created an advantage which was enough at the end to win the game. The guys did what I asked them to do after last week [after the crushing 109-86 defeat at Anadolu Efes Istanbul], which is controlling things on defense."
The reverse at Efes came after Bayern brushed aside Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade 74-66 and following that loss, the German team was able to revert to the defensive steel that yielded an impressive recent run of results.
Laso, the winner of two EuroLeague titles with Real Madrid during his 2011-2022 spell in charge of Los Blancc, offered an interesting management analogy to describe how he keeps his teams going amid excruciating exertions.
“Sometimes I see teams as cars. You consume all that gasoline at games and how do you put it back in? By resting and practicing. It was good to finally be together in full force, as some guys were injured and others were away playing for their national teams,” he said. “We had a tough stretch before the [German] Cup tournament but that is the life, you can’t take a vacation in the middle of the season.”
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Another tough run awaits in the Euroleague regular season’s home stretch, with Bayern visiting direct play-in rival Valencia ahead of a monster tripleheader on home court against Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, FC Barcelona and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens.
Bayern closes its campaign with a trip to Monaco, but Laso insisted his team must take it one game at a time in its quest to reach the business end of the competition.
“We can’t think beyond the next game and Valencia. The EuroLeague is like that, every game is extremely difficult so right now, we’ll just enjoy this win against Zalgiris and then brace ourselves for the upcoming challenges.”