There were two particularly notable scenes in the second playoff quarterfinals between the basketball players of FC Bayern Munich and those of BG Göttingen. Three seconds before the end of the game, Munich playmaker Cassius Winston stepped over to the opposing basket to take two free throws. It was a 85-85 draw. If he had converted both, Göttingen would have had the chance to equalize or even win with a three-pointer. In basketball, three seconds is enough time. So coach Andrea Trinchieri instructed him to throw the second free throw against the ring and then grab the rebound. A risky manoeuvre, but it worked and gave Bayern a razor-thin 87-85 victory.
Then there was the 25th minute of the game: Captain Andreas Obst slipped under the opposing basket and badly overstretched his knee, the game was over for him. That was the moment that brought the Munich team completely out of step. Important leaders are already missing in Vladimir Lucic, Augustine Rubit and Othello Hunter, but Obst got the all-clear the day after. The captain will travel with the team, but it is questionable whether he will be able to play in Göttingen on Sunday (3 p.m.). Perhaps it was successful that teammate Niklas Wimberg called on higher powers after the game: “I pray that Andi will be there again on Sunday.”
In any case, Obst’s absence left its mark: “That robbed us of energy, it was a shock,” Wimberg explained the change of direction on the field, after a fairly comfortable 55:43 lead that promised a similar gameplay as the 87:67 -Success in the first game of the best-of-five series, the guests moved dangerously close to the fur of the cup winner.
Given the club’s goal of ending the season with the double, the performance was questionable
Trinchieri then used his typical imagery to classify his performance: “We played like a flat tire.” At least with a good ending, but the performance of the players left deep worry lines on his forehead, because the lack of consistency has accompanied his team throughout the season. Trinchieri said it was the “rookies” that night, so he had too many players who were going to work for the first time in Europe or the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). Addressing US trio Winston, center Freddie Gillespie and post-signed Zylan Cheatham.
This hint from the coach sounds a bit perplexed, because there are still enough established national players in the squad, such as the European Championship bronze winners Nick Weiler-Babb and Niels Giffey, the national players Isaac Bonga and Wimberg, both for Germany 2020 at the Olympics in Tokyo , or the Serb Ognjen Jaramaz. Corey Walden, DJ Seeley and Elias Harris have Euroleague experience, although the latter was injured for a long time. In view of the club’s goal of ending the season with the double, the performance was questionable, because Göttingen is an average BBL team, the big chunks on the way to the title are still to come.
Despite the defeat, the people from Göttingen have gained self-confidence, especially since they won the main round comparison in their own hall – so the people from Munich have to find new energy quickly. What Wimberg has no doubts about: “We have enough guys who switch to a different mode when something is at stake. And we have shown that we can then deliver.”
