By Stefan Djordjevic / info@eurohoops.net
Bayern Munich hosted Olimpia Milano for a clash that could’ve gone either way but, in the end, belonged to the Italian team with 81-79 on the scoreboard after overtime.
The teams were going back and forth the whole game and Vladimir Lucic’s three-pointer on one, followed by Sergio Rodriguez’s driving layup on the other side, tied the game at 70 going into the final minute.
And it stayed that way despite Nihad Djedovic and Shavon Shields having their chances at heroics.
A low-scoring extra five minutes were to be expected. No easy baskets were allowed but Malcolm Delaney made it look easy with his six points – first six of Milano in overtime – as well as the assist for Shields’ game-winning three handing Milano the win.
“It was good. We kind of struggled throughout the game, but we stuck with it, found a way to win. It’s a good win on the road to start the EuroLeague season. I think they just had good defensive strategy. They switched a lot, we overreacted instead of playing the way we play. But we overcame it. Every team in the EuroLeague playing at home is tough. Bayern is well coached, they have a good roster and they came out and played well,” Delaney said.
He finished the game with 17 points, eight assists, four rebounds while Kyle Hines followed with 16 points. Shields added nine points.
For Bayern, Wade Baldwin scored 18 in addition to Nihad DJedovic and Jalen Reynolds’ 14 points each. Reynolds also grabbed 11 boards for a double-double.
Both squads went into the game with a mindset focused on tough defense and that was the story of the first half. Milano was up 15-14 after ten minutes and 32-31 at halftime.
Neither team was able to create too many open shots and score easily but a few players managed to push through for both sides. Malcolm Delaney and Michael Roll on one with eight points each versus Nihad Djedovic who got to nine by the break.
On the contrary, the third quarter was quite effective despite the players still entering the duels strongly. A total of 46 points was scored as Bayern got up 55-54 in front of the last period.
Luigi Datome nailed a buzzer from deep to close the third quarter and it sparked a 7-0 run going into the final ten minutes. However, as was the case the whole game, neither squad could make a significant advantage and Bayern fought back, eventually bringing the game into overtime which belonged to the Italians.
Coach Ettore Messina was, despite obvious mistakes, very happy for his squad and an important win: “Assuming this will be an easy game is completely wrong. I am extremely happy, we won against a good team on the road. We faced some unusual mistakes because we turned the ball over little bit too much, but the main point is we are not supposed to win every game. It is not easy. I don’t know if you buy confidence in the store. We have confidence, we play together and we are very humble. And we don’t expect to win by 20 over anybody because we are trying to make ourselves a name in this competition.”