By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Starting a busy week with an overtime win. FC Bayern Munich outlasts EA7 Emporio Armani Milan on Tuesday.
Carsen Edwards tallied 11 of his 32 points in the five extra minutes to power his side to the win, 91-84, in BMW Park. “It was more of a players thing. Carsen showed up with two three-pointers in a row,” reacted head coach Pablo Laso to the German club pulling away in overtime.
Serge Ibaka forced overtime by banking in a three-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining in the Round 12 contest of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season. “I work on that shot every day. I just trusted myself and shot it,” he described his approach to the game-tying buzzer-beater.
Edwards, 25, set a new individual scoring high in Europe’s premier club continental competition with 12/21 field goals, including 5/10 from beyond the arc. “My teammates were helping me get open. Good plays. Good sets. Good screens,” the former Purdue standout focused on the team effort, “I am just happy to see some going in.”
Ibaka, 34, shared a game-high PIR of 28 with Edwards by posting a 20-point, 12-rebound double-double. “Our focus was to start the game aggressively and make sure we do not give them confidence,” the experienced big shared after the third consecutive EuroLeague win at home.
“Apart from points and rebounds, I think he is leading my players on a regular basis,” Laso praised the Congolese-Spanish forward/center, “He is a veteran. He knows what is up. We saw a lot of veterans coming from the NBA to show something. He is not here to show anything. He is ready to play.”
Tight throughout the 40 minutes with both sides limited to single-digit leads, Shavon Shields fueled a 9-0 run with two triples to shape a 74-68 advantage for the visitors. The six-point cushion stretched into the final minute of regulation but to no avail.
Despite ruling out Leandro Bolmaro (calf), Vladimir Lucic (hand), Andreas Obst (foot), Niklas Wimberg (illness), and Elias Harris (foot), the team coached by Laso went up to 6-6 with a third win in a row. Nick Weiler-Babb chipped in 14 points and Sylvain Francisco had 11 points.
“I think our game plan was pretty good,” mentioned the Spanish tactician, “We made some mistakes that hurt us during the game, but we were still fighting. And probably we had open jumpers and good jumpers at the end that were necessary to win the game.”
Ettore Messina’s side was forced down to 4-8 with a fourth straight loss across all competitions. It was the fifth loss in six away games at the continental level. Shields finished with 26 points in Munich.
“We knew we had to foul. We did not manage to stop the clock,” the head coach of Le Scarpette Rosse referred to the last play of the fourth period and Ibaka instead sending the game to overtime, “After such a great comeback and after playing a great second half. I am very frustrated for the players, for all of us. It is a year where we do not manage even the small things to win a game.”
Nikola Mirotic (Achilles) recently joined Billy Baron (elbow) on the injury list. Kevin Pangos and unregistered Guglielmo Caruso were sidelined as well.
To Greece and Serbia
Traveling to Greece, an away game versus Olympiacos follows for Bayern on Friday. Staying at 6-3 in Germany’s easyCredit BBL and instead competing for a spot in the BBL-Pokal Final Four, Laso’s side visits Telekom Baskets Bonn on Sunday.
The Italian club faces Partizan Mozzart Bet in Belgrade on Thursday. Back to Italy’s LBA UnipolSai and hoping to improve from a 5-5 start, hosting Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Mediolanum Forum on Sunday is the next domestic challenge.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net