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Bamberg

Brose Bamberg ties the semi-final series against Munich

Bamberg, 05-23-2018

That was a strong response by the German champs. A magnificent fighting home victory by the margin of 78:65 means the semi-final series in the titanic tussle between Brose Bamberg and cup winners FC Bayern is now all-square at 1:1. Yet the team of Head Coach Luca Banchi trailed by 13 points at one stage in the second period.

Bamberg began with Aleksej Nikolic, who had not been included in the squad in the past three games. The European champion from Slovenia surprised Bayern by scoring a quick eight points out of his total tally of ten to put his side 8:4 in front. However, the visitors then closed down the home side’s options in attack thanks to aggressive defending and their tough play resulted in Banchi’s team conceding four turnovers. The reigning champions also became disgruntled with the line adopted by the referees. Bamberg was penalized for more fouls than Bayern up to half-time and Luca Banchi conceded a technical foul for complaining. With the score at 18:20 at the start of the second period, the league title-holders went five minutes without scoring and were trailing by 18:31 after 16 minutes. Yet Bamberg pulled itself together, was more forceful at the back thanks to a temporary switch to zone defense and forced Bayern to take very difficult shots. In addition, Leon Radosevic ran into form under the visitors’ basket, snapping up three out of seven offensive rebounds in the first half to give his side a second chance to score. With six free throws in a row, Bamberg gradually crept closer (26:33), before German international Maodo Lo drained a bucket from beyond the arc and Daniel Hackett followed suit after an offensive rebound to put the home side back in contention at the break (34:35).

When both sides returned, Munich first stretched its lead to 34:40, then Dorell Wright finally drained his first bucket after eight misses. The three to make it 37:40 in front of his brother, NBA player Delon Wright from the Toronto Raptors, and a textbook block against Munich’s Nihad Djedovic gave Wright the confidence he needed. The American bagged another six points by the end of the period and, abetted by Augustine Rubit and Maodo Lo, tied the encounter at 59:59. The reigning champs used the final quarter to make a statement. Banchi’s team defended even more tightly and closed down the spaces, with the result that Bayern hardly found any way through. The home side conceded just six points in the final minutes: The weakest quarter Munich has had in offense in the whole season. And at the other end, Bamberg produced a true cavalcade of threes: Daniel Hackett and Dorell Wright both drained buckets from downtown to make it 65:59, while Maodo Lo added his fourth (68:61). Top scorer Wright (22 points) likewise scored from outside with four minutes remaining to give his side its first double-digit lead (71:61), which was followed shortly afterwards by Wright’s three to seal the encounter (76:63). The 6,200 Bamberg fans thanked their team with boisterous cheers that turned the Brose Arena into a veritable cauldron.

Luca Banchi commented: “I’m very pleased at how my team bounced back. Munich played with a lot of energy, but we were finally able to match its intensity and physical play. Congratulations to my team for the way it fought, although we had a size disadvantage on court at times. We displayed the same energy in the second half and scored better. As a result, we carved out an advantage in the final period. It’s still early days in the series, but I’m happy we’ll have at least one more home game.”