Basketball: Brose Bamberg loses to AS Monaco

Brose Bamberg was defeated 79-99 by EuroLeague top club AS Monaco in its final preparation game in front of its home crowd. The 320 spectators at the Strullendorf training center saw some really good basketball at times, with strong action on both sides.

The opening phase was even, Brose was ahead 5:3 after a small 5:0 run at the beginning after a three-pointer by Kevin Wohlrath and two points by Justin Wright-Foreman after one minute. Monaco initially had problems with the Bamberg defense, which stood firm and hardly allowed any free throws. Two more long-range goals from Wright-Foreman and Patrick Heckmann ensured that the hosts remained well in the game towards the end of the first period and only went into the first quarter break with a four-point deficit. Up to that point, Brose had made five more throws than their opponents and dominated the opposing board with six offensive rebounds. In the second ten minutes, however, the guests showed that they can play really good basketball. Defensively, they now made life extremely difficult for the Bambergers, and in front it was repeatedly quick actions that forced Brose to commit fouls. The result: a 0:13 run from Bamberg's point of view, nine of these 13 points resulted from free throws (26:40). It was Patrick Heckmann who ended the offensive curse and ensured that Brose found its rhythm again. Wright-Foreman brought his team back into the single-digit deficit just over three minutes before the break: 33:42. At halftime, Bamberg was down by eleven points, and the sides were changed at 41:52.

Four quick points from Monaco opened the second half before Vaidas Kariniauskas scored successfully for Brose for the first time after a good 22 minutes. Midway through the third quarter, Wright-Foreman, who was in good form, hit another three-pointer to make it 53-66 at the interval. The next few minutes, however, belonged to the Monegasques, with Mike James now increasingly present and accurate. But it was finally a three-pointer by Moerman that put Brose behind by more than 20 points for the first time (55:76). However, the last actions of the quarter belonged to the home side again, or rather to Amir Bell, who scored six points in a row to make it 61-79 after 30 minutes. In the final period, the game swung back and forth again. Some nice Bamberg actions were countered on the other side by strong threes of the guests. In the end, Monaco hit ten throws from beyond the 6.75m line. In addition, they were allowed to go to the free-throw line a total of 29 times, sinking 21 of them, which together was decisive for the final score of 79:99.

It was a defeat, but one that Brose Bamberg can definitely build on, especially since at least one of the two national players still missing will be back by Thursday at the latest. The latter will then be involved in the last test (6 p.m. in Jena) next Saturday before the team heads off to Lisbon for Champions League qualification on Sunday.