Bayern Ballers hold off Baskets
Fast start help Munich win Showdown against Würzburg
Olympiahalle, Munich, February 20 - Jonathan Wallace scored 22 points and Aleksandar Nadjfeji's critical baskets in crunch time helped defeat the hard-charging s.Oliver Baskets 82-75 in front of 12,200 enthusiastic fans Sunday afternoon.
The game could not have started any better for Bayern, jumping out to a 7-0 lead. Quick layups by Wallace and captain Steffen Hamann and a trey from Robert Garrett shocked the Baskets into a quick timeout. Wallace would continue the hot shooting, making all three of his shots from beyond the arc, and scoring 13 of his points in the first quarter. As a team, FCB shot 72% that translated to the 31-14 lead.
Bayern kept the momentum going at the beginning of the second quarter, building their biggest lead of the day at 22 points, 38-16 with 7:06 left in the half. The Baskets decided to finally join the fray, outscoring Bayern 12-7 the rest of the half, but still trailing 45-28.
And they continued to chip away at the deficit in the 3rd quarter. Lee Jeka got hot and scored 12 points that was similar to Wallace's run in the 1st. He hit all two of his trey's and breaking down the Bayern defense to help win the quarter 23-13. The lead was now down to just 7 points. The 2,000 fans who traveled down from Würzburg were beginning to control the atmosphere. The rest of the Munich crowd realized they had the numbers. The fans then created the stage for the final stanza.
Both teams displayed why they are the top two teams in the Basketball Bundesliga's second division, the ProA by trading baskets, fouls, and overall intense plays for the next 10 minutes. With 3:02 left, Jeka's three-pointer got the Baskets within 68-67. After a timeout, Nadjfeji made a few juke moves under the basket, got the bucket and was fouled. A three-point play gave Bayern some room. His subsequent basket with 1:50 left returned the advantage to his team that they took home the victory.
Promotion is now quite likely for FC Bayern who have now won 15 games in a row and lead the table. They travel to Essen to take on the Wohnbau Baskets on Saturday, and return to the Eissportzentrum "Munich Square Garden" on Sunday, March 6 against VfL Kirchheim Knights.
