By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Game 2 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Quarterfinals best-of-five series between FC Barcelona and FC Bayern Munich will be hosted in Palau Blaugrana, today, Thursday (20:00 CET). The Catalonia giant went up 1-0 on Tuesday.
“I think we need to look at the mistakes we did in Game 1 to prepare for the second game,” noted DeShaun Thomas, who did not score over 11 minutes in Game 1, “We were right there, towards the end we were there in seven or eight points, but I think we have a chance to work on little things from that first game.”
Game 3 will be held in Munich’s Audi Dome next Wednesday. Game 4, if necessary, will follow at the same venue a couple of days later. The team coached by Italian Andrea Trinchieri would love to get the home-court advantage before returning to Germany.
“Barca was totally ready and they showed up their huge quality,” said the experienced Bayern play-caller, “We had some physical problems, but nevertheless we proved that we can have a chance to win and therefore we will give everything in the next game.”
Villanova product Darrun Hilliard adding to the injury-bugged campaign with a fractured collarbone is back in Munich and will undergo season-ending surgery. In addition, Corey Walden (back) was not available in Game 1 and will remain sidelined in Game 2.
“We already saw it in Game 1, where we lost our focus in the third quarter,” warned Barca boss Sarunas Jasikevicius regarding the members of his squad opting for a more relaxing approach against shorthanded Bayern. Except for injured Cory Higgins (foot), the remaining players are available for the Lithuanian head coach.
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net