By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After dropping an early 14-point lead, FC Bayern Munich got back in charge and took down Telekom Baskets Bonn, 87-74, to win the easyCredit BBL Playoffs Semifinals best-of-five series 3-2 Wednesday.
Nick Weiler-Babb went for 18 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, while captain Nihad Djedovic drew up 14 points in Game 5. Improved defense holding the hosts to 17 points in the third quarter recovered the double-digit advantage and the commanding position spilled into the series-clinching victory. Ognjen Jaramaz was sidelined along with long-time injury list tenants Corey Walden and Darrun Hilliard but the team coached by Italian mastermind Andrea Trinchieri managed to punch in the ticket for the championship best-of-five series opposite fellow Turkish Airlines EuroLeague participant Alba Berlin.
The season MVP of the BBL Parker Jackson-Cartwright scoring a game-high 25 points and dishing out ten assists was not enough for the team guided by the German league’s Coach of the Year Tuomas Iisalo. Despite Javontae Hawkins suffering an injury on his ankle midway through the first period, Bonn stormed back from a 14-point deficit but ran out of gas in the later stages of the do-or-die Game 5.
Since 1998, only three teams prevailed from 0-2 situations and Bonn did it twice in the Quarterfinals of the 2002 and 2003 Playoffs. The latest bid fell short as the Munich outlet got the job done after two losses in a row and will be looking for the sixth domestic championship in team history at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net