Mere Formalities

Weekend Wrap of Munich sports

As it turns out, it was a walk-through, going-through-the-motions weekend.  Germany crushed Kazakhstan 4-0, and both Bayern Basketball and Generali Haching won their respective matches with ease.  Here's your wrap.

20 in a Row!

by Gabriel Nounna, TMT Sports

Olympia Eissportzentrum, Munich, March 27 - Bayern won their 20th game in a row as they beat the Saar-Pfalz-Braves Saturday evening 75-57.

Bayern Basketball struggled to find motivation to play at a level they are used to since becoming the Champions of the ProA, the second division of the Basketball Bundesliga.  As head coach Dirk Bauermann said, "individually I didn't think we played as focused as we should have."

The lack of focus was a hindrance especially when it came to ball handling. Bayern had 17 turnovers, some of which came from bad passes and being a little slow to make decisions. Despite the unusual amount of turnovers, Bayern did not slip too far and were able to play like a championship team.

"When you have accomplished your goal and have already won the championship but you have 5 games left to play it's hard," said Bauermann of the lack of crispness from his team.  "It's just human nature that you have a little slippage but I have to give them a lot of credit because other teams would have started playing selfish but they kept playing as a team and kept defending."

Bayern started the game with an 8-0 run and never looked back.  They never trailed and their biggest lead of the game was 19 points. The player of the game was Darius Hall who was the leading scorer with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Although it was not a blowout, the bench even got some time on the court.

Bayern will travel to the KiKxxlarena to play against the GiroLive-Ballers Osnabrück on Saturday, April 2nd at 19:30 CET.  The team returns home the following weekend to host the Cuxhaven Baskets on April 9th.

Gabriel Nounna is a staff writer for The Munich Times. Email him at Gabriel.Nounna@themunicheye.com and follow him on Twitter @gabe_TMT_sports.

Haching and second place...mission possible?

By Simone Sperduto, TMT Sports

Generali Haching won away against RWE Volleys Bottrop 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-11, 25-20) and surpassed SSC Berlin and take over second place in the Volleyball Bundesliga.  SCC won yesterday, beating VfB Friedrichshafen 3-1.

Robert Hupka didn't play because of an Achilles tendon injury, so Haching head coach Mihai Paduretu chose Roko Sikiric to start. The first set was a nip-and-tuck affair and the suspense was high.  But in the end Haching won 25-23.

At the beginning of the second set the Bavarians tried to run away but the home team was able to stay closed. Bottrop led 21-16 but the Hachingers closed the gap with 4 points in a row.  But it wasn't enough as RWE won the second set 25:22.

After the tie, Haching found the way to play solid volleyball and dominate the third set, 25-11.  "We played better - the services and the receptions were excellent," said Paduretu. "We gave Bottrop no more chances."

The Bavarian won the fourth set without too much effort 25-20 and the match.  The win brings Haching into a three-way tie with Friedsrichshafen and Berlin, but set differential has Haching currently in second with one regular season match left.  RWE dropped into 6th spot and will have to win to avoid facing Haching again in the playoffs.

After the game, Paduretu was happy with the result:  "In the first phase of the match we did not found our rhythm and we were a bit unlucky in the second set. After the draw of Bottrop, we found the way to play a good volleyball and we won."

Next game for Generali Haching will be Saturday in Spergau against CV Mitteldeutschland. First serve at 19:30 CET.

Simone Sperduto is a sports reporter for The Munich Times.  Email TMT Sports at sports@themunicheye.com