expert Jakob Cup 2018: medi Bayreuth finishes third after beating FC Bayern

The winner of the expert Jakob Cup in 2018 comes once more from Upper Franconia. After medi Bayreuth came away as winners last year, Brose Bamberg captured the title in the warm-up tournament in Bayreuth’s Oberfrankenhalle in the face of competition from top-flight teams. The nine-times German champions lined up against the Russian cup winners Lokomotive Kuban Krasnodar in the final and romped to a commanding 87:64 (45:38) victory.

Before that, the HEROES OF TOMORROW won their third-place playoff. The team of Raoul Korner ran out winners by 96:83 (49:42) and so fulfilled the Head Coach’s hopes that it would take another step forward in its preparation for the new season.

Third place playoff: medi Bayreuth vs. FC Bayern Basketball

The HEROES OF TOMORROW were fully alert from the tip-off and initially posed problems for the German champions thanks to their finely crafted moves. Raoul Korner’s team was also more aggressive and effective in defense than the day before and so was able to build a lead.

The second period also started well for medi. However, Bayern was spurred on by Braydon Hobbs, who scored eight points in the second quarter, and got more and more into its stride. Nevertheless, medi was able to hold on to its lead from the first quarter going in at the break.

Led on by Gregor Hrovat and a David Stockton in strong form in offense (nine points in the third period), medi Bayreuth was able to pull further away in the third period. Hobbs and Booker put up stiff resistance for the reigning champions, who were without Koponen, Dedovic and Radosevic, but medi Bayreuth was able to stretch the gap to 16 points by the end of the third quarter.

After Bayreuth notched up its highest lead of the encounter (82:63), its flow was suddenly disrupted. A number of turnovers and unfocused actions allowed Bayern to get back within striking distance. Fired on by their vociferous fans, among them Bastian Doreth and Andi Seiferth, who had both returned to Bayreuth after the Super Cup in Hamburg, the HEROES OF TOMORROW mastered this situation and so were able to clinch victory and third place in the expert Jakob Cup.