Isaac Bonga and Elias Harris played a major role in FC Bayern Munich getting its first victory of the season. And that comes as no surprise to head coach Andrea Trinchieri.
The Bayern playcaller watched Bonga score 12 points and grab 8 rebounds while Harris had all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter of Bayern’s 81-78 win over Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
That production is actually what Trinchieri, his coaching staff and club management had been expecting.
"When we built the roster, we counted on them. And then suddenly for the first three months, they disappear. And we had to find new chemistry, new hierarchy,” said Trinchieri, who did not have his two German injured stars in his lineup until Round 5 last week.
Harris scored 10 points and had 2 rebounds and Bonga was scoreless with 3 rebounds and 2 assists against Crvena Zvezda Mts Belgrade.
Bonga and Harris were two of Bayern’s biggest off-season signings. The fact that they are German players was all the more important for Bayern which watched Nihad Dedovic and Leon Radosevic depart in the off-season. Both veterans were considered domestic players in the German League, where clubs must have six Germans on the game roster.