The German side gave its hopes of making the Play-In Showdown a big boost in Round 26.
Bayern bounced back in style at Stark Arena
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Regular Season
Round 26 of 34
Group Regular Season
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It takes true strength of character to beat Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade at Stark Arena, especially in a game where the hosts have been in control for the majority of the first three quarters.
FC Bayern Munich, however, showed in Round 26 that it has plenty of fighting spirit and a never-say-die attitude, which came to the fore in Serbia on Thursday night.
Last week saw Pablo Laso’s Bayern fall at home to Olympiacos Piraeus, meaning it was the team’s second defeat at BMW Park in its last three games. After losing to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, Bayern edged past Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz in overtime before then succumbing to the Reds.
Making a statement in Belgrade
Hence, morale was not at its highest ahead of a trip to Partizan, as Bayern dropped to a 10-15 record and saw its play-in hopes take a dent. The game in Belgrade suddenly became a must-win fixture – and Bayern demonstrated in the first quarter that it would be a tough opponent to break down.
The guests outscored Partizan 23-26 in the first 10 minutes, but an extraordinary Frank Kaminsky came to the fore in the second quarter. The Partizan center went 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and recorded a PIR of 19, which is the best PIR registered in a single quarter of a Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game by a Partizan player in a game since 2014, when Tarence Kinsey recorded a 21 PIR in the second period of a game against, curiously enough, Bayern.
“I think it was very important for the players to tell them during the game that they were doing the things that we told them to do,” Coach Laso explained during the post-game press conference. “They needed to follow the plan, despite Kaminsky popping against [Serge] Ibaka and [Danko] Brankovic and taking some jumpers. He went 4-for-4. [I told them:] ‘Keep believing, we will solve that problem. We have our solutions for that. Let’s see if he keeps making [triples].’ But we followed the plan and the team was very good both offensively and defensively.”
Having taken a 45-41 cushion into the second half, Partizan remained in control after the break and even took a double-digit lead, 61-51, with 3:42 left on the clock in the third quarter. With the Partizan fans buzzing, the hosts looked eager to extend their lead heading into the fourth.
A timely contribution
Enter Sylvain Francisco, who scored 19 of his 20 points in the last 13 minutes of the contest, including a game-winning three-pointer to silence the packed crowd.
“We spoke before the game and we said that it will be very tough until the end,” Laso noted. “We were trailing but we were still fighting. We were coming back, but we made some mistakes. It looked like the game was slipping out of our hands. We were able to come back and we played really smart in the last few possessions. We’ve got a lot of credit for winning in this arena, where not a lot of teams are able to win.”
Mid-range jumpers created trouble for Bayern’s defense all night, with Kevin Punter and PJ Dozier dealing blow after blow in the closing stages. Yet, Bayern didn’t give up and responded in the form of Francisco and Ibaka, who combined for 17 of their team’s 20 points in the last quarter.
“We stuck together,” the Bayern center said after the win. “We knew that coming here would not be easy. Them playing here at home with these fans, it’s crazy. I’ve never seen something like this before in my life in 18 years playing professional basketball. This is a very important victory for us, especially coming from the last game that we lost at home. Winning here is big for us.”
Play-in goals
Indeed, winning at Stark Arena can’t be taken for granted, but Bayern proved on Thursday night that it has the mentality to fight back against all odds. “We still have chances to get in play-in positions and we will fight until the end,” Laso added.
Bayern will dispute five of its last eight games of the season at home, with its three road duels taking place at playoff-chasing Anadolu Efes Istanbul, Valencia Basket and AS Monaco. However, the German side demonstrated on Thursday night that it has what it takes to defy the odds, which should put it in good stead entering the home stretch.