By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Ideally, opening a new, state-of-the-art arena must be accompanied by a big win. And that was the case in the final score of 97-89 as Bayern Munich prevailed over mighty Real Madrid.
Don’t get fooled by the numbers. With 17 seconds left, Bayern was up by three and Real Madrid had the ball and the chance to send the game to overtime.
Facundo Campazzo took the early shot just after three seconds, but he missed, and after that Bayern controlled things with Vladimir Lucic making all the free throws after getting fouled by Madrid to stop the clock.
Campazzo was ejected after this play while complaining to the refs asking for a foul on his shot while his teammate Serge Ibaka was trying to restrain him.
On the other side, Shabazz Napier had a standout performance with a game-high 25 points. Johannes Voigtmann added 19 plus 10 rebounds and Carsen Edwards had 14.
“It was a rollercoaster game. Both teams had momentum at times. The difference we had a tough start of the third and the bench came and did an outstanding job. We never gave up hope and a great job from our players“, said head coach of Bayern Munich, Gordon Herbert.
Campazzo scored 19 points for Real Madrid plus he dished nine assists, Dzanan Musa had 18 points and Eddy Tavares just missed the double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
An epic fourth quarter
After a balanced first half with Real Madrid leading 29-26 after the first period and Bayern finishing the second up by one (52-51), the “Whites made their move.
Madrid had a spectacular 22-12 third period, getting a solid 73-64 advantage and everyone believed at that point that the game was over.
Bayern didn’t stop there. The score was tied at 75 after an 11-2 run and the Germans led even by eight (85-77) with Napier scoring at will. Madrid didn’t give up and thanks to Campazzo they trimmed the lead to one (90-89) with one minute left.
Lucic with two free throws made the score 92-89 and Madrid couldn’t score after that.
Photo credit: EuroLeague