A good half hour before tip-off they had done a test run on the scoreboard, and the score was an imaginary 90:79 for Bayern – in the equally imaginary 34th minute of the game. That seemed a little unrealistic at the time, but in the end it wasn’t at all: in the actual 34th minute of the game, the Munich basketball players had already scored 87 points.
It was clear to the team that they had something to make amends for. The EWE Baskets Oldenburg spoiled the start of the season for Bayern in the league when the Munich team surprisingly lost in the north on the second matchday. They also had to keep their new head coach, Pablo Laso, happy – he hadn’t been that often before.
Now, in the cup round of 16 early on Sunday evening, it wasn’t just revenge. The game was the first clear warning signal to the national competition: This is what it will look like once we get going. The team was clearly superior in all respects and, above all, showed no phases of weakness, even if the game, unsurprisingly, seemed a little disjointed towards the end. In the end it was a clear 101:73 for Bayern. How could it be, Oldenburg coach Pedro Calles was asked, that within 13 days against the same team you first win by ten points and then lose by 28? His answer? “A: We weren’t the same team, especially mentally. And B: Bayern weren’t the same team either.”
“We learned a lot from the game in Oldenburg,” said Bayern coach Pablo Laso. And was happy about “a lot of concentration” in the initial phase. This and Carsen Edwards’ good throws were the key to the start-to-finish victory, which was never in jeopardy. The hosts started in front of 6,367 spectators with consistent defensive work and a three-man festival; After the first quarter they had already collected 32 points.
Particularly noticeable: Edwards, who initially converted four long-range throws in a row. The arrival from Fenerbahce Istanbul came to Munich with high expectations, but like the whole team, he hadn’t really gotten going yet. That changed on Sunday. “Good scorers will score again at some point,” said Laso about the 25-year-old Texan, who once played in the NBA playoffs with the Boston Celtics. A few days ago he also mentioned that Edwards was struggling with minor physical problems. These now seem to have been resolved.
Open detailed view
Had everything under control again at Bayern: world champion Isaac Bonga.
(Photo: Oryk Haist/Imago)
In the second quarter the hosts quickly took a lead of over 20 points. In the meantime, they were on the verge of even catching up with the free throw rate with their three-point rate. In the end, the former dropped significantly again (48 percent of the attempts were possible), but the long-distance throws still made the big difference – Bayern won this duel 45:24. Also because Oldenburg often had to take difficult throws thanks to Bayern’s solid defensive performance.
“In the previous games we never started the way we should,” said Laso. This time the start was right, but there were also high points towards the end, such as a block and a dunk by center Serge Ibaka, who was the second best Bayern thrower with 14 points; and then the 100-point mark was cracked after a free throw from Sylvain Francisco. “All of us scored,” said world champion Niels Giffey happily as he looked at the scoreboard after the game. The reparation mission was approached primarily with the plan to adapt more quickly.
Bayern started the cup game on Sunday with the hashtag “Mission to defend the title”, and on the way there the knot was really unraveled for the first time. However, it is no secret that the other two competitions are more important. The 56-year-old head coach has two Euroleague games coming up in his home country of Spain in the coming days, on Tuesday (8.30 p.m.) in his Basque hometown of Vitoria, and three days later against his former club Real Madrid.
“We are ready,” says Laso about his team. It would be bad if you weren’t ready now. But this statement would have been much more difficult for him if there had not been a first, small festival under his aegis against Oldenburg.
