Medi Bayreuth loses in Patras in the Champions League

medi Bayreuth suffered a setback in the battle for a playoff spot in the Basketball Champions League on Wednesday evening. The HEROES OF TOMORROW lost on the road at Promitheas Patras by 83:95 (42:44) and so were not able to close the gap in the table on the Greek club. Since Filou Oostende also won at Neptunas Klaipeda, medi Bayreuth has also been overtaken by the Belgian club and is currently in sixth with 14 points.

Patras started ticking over nicely right away, resulting in an end-to-end affair in which both teams traded blows in the opening spell. The HEROES OF TOMORROW were able to keep the encounter evenly poised until the scores stood at 9:9, after which the home side opened up a 28:16 gap, mainly thanks to its exceptional shooting percentage. medi repeatedly had problems against the very aggressive defending of Promitheas, who provoked a number of turnovers. It was only after Head Coach Raoul Korner called his first timeout that his side was able to stop the run and reduce the deficit to 23:28 by the end of the period.

The HEROES OF TOMORROW were now really in the game and made it increasingly difficult for the Greek club to carve out shots and score. More attentive defending reduced the opposing side’s shooting percentage and so ensured that the gap remained in the single digits. Bayreuth also rebounded very well, was able to score after missing shots and so kept the pressure on Promitheas Patras. As a result, De’Mon Brooks even recaptured the lead with a free throw shortly before half-time. However, Leonidas Kaselakis managed to put his side back in front with the final shot of the first 20 minutes. Both sides thus went into the break with Patras leading 44:42.

Unfortunately, medi was not able to maintain its good form of the first half and so the team of Head Coach Makis Giatras dominated the start of the second. A quick run of 7 points without reply gave a home side a slightly more comfortable cushion. Although the HEROES OF TOMORROW repeatedly managed to get back into contention, they were not able to achieve a real breakthrough. The home side now found better solutions in its play and so kept medi at arm’s length, albeit without opening up a decisive gap. Bayreuth went into the final period trailing by 63:71.

The final ten minutes were a replica of the third quarter. medi cut the deficit to 69:73 through De’Mon Brooks and even had the chance to close the gap further. However, the HEROES OF TOMORROW now made too many mistakes, especially in defense, enabling the Greek club to make easy points time and again. It was those moments where Patras showed that it was simply stronger and that it also had the game’s outstanding player, Rion Brown, in its ranks. As a result, Promitheas ran out deserved winners by 95:83 in the sparsely filled Dimitris Tofalos Arena.

Source: www.medi-bayreuth.de