By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to Nihad Djedovic, who had 19 points and a cold night by Scottie Wilbeking, Bayern Munich prevailed over Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv at home. The final score was 80-68 with Paul Zipser adding 17 points and nine rebounds for the winners.
On the other side, Wilbekin dished eight assists, but he made just three out of 17 field goals on the way to only nine points, and for the first time this season, the injury woes of Maccabi proved to be a factor.
On the other hand, Bayern missed injured Vladimir Lucic, who also became a father.
A great start
After an 11-2 run, Bayern got a 19-9 lead, which was extended to 13 points (25-12) at the beginning of the second period.
However, Maccabi started playing their trademark defense and tied the score at 29 after their own 17-4 run, while at halftime score was 35-33 in favor of the hosts.
Djedovic, with 16 points in 14 minutes of action, was leading the charge for Bayern.
Μaccabi finally got the 47-45 lead after a bucket by Othello Hunter, but thanks to a Petteri Koponen and a big three, Bayern was still up by four (57-53) at the end of the third quarter.
It was the start of a quick 8-0 run that was completed by TJ Βray and gave the hosts a 62-53 lead with eight minutes left. Maccabi once again came back, trailing by two (68-66) entering the last four minutes of the game.
Maccabi couldn’t get any closer. A goal foul by Greg Monroe and a three by Djedovic restored order for Bayern (74-66), and the game was practically over.
As Paul Zipser said: “I think we just showed direction. We had tough practices. We worked on a lot of things. Like I said before, or after the games we lost, we made progress, and you could see you today. If we keep fighting every game like this and sticking together like this, we are going to be good.”
Bayern with a 7-14 record remains near the bottom of the league standings, while Maccabi’s 14-7 record is good enough for the fifth spot.
“I am proud”
It was the first-ever Euroleague win for Bayern coach Oliver Kostic who didn’t hide his excitement, which combined the win with Lucic’s happiness: ” I am very proud. And we have not only one victory tonight; we have two victories. One victory on the court as a team and the second victory our player, Lucic, got a daughter. So we have two victories, and we’re going to celebrate a little bit.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague