By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Greg Monroe posted 18 points and led four scorers in double-digits as FC Bayern Munich outlasted visiting Real Madrid and sealed a 95-86 victory in Round 5 of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Bayern held its ground when the Spanish side came back to the game in the fourth quarter and trimmed the deficit to 81-78 and finished off with its third victory of the season.
“I am happy we gave a great effort and got a win. I have been trying to get more comfortable one game at the time. My teammates have been doing a great job helping me out. I think we are all learning each other, every day we are coming to practice, every game we make sure we get better, make sure we are all on the same page, and it is turning into wins for us”, Monroe mentioned following Bayern’s win.
Apart from Monroe, Danilo Barthel and Petteri Koponen checked in with 17 and 15 points each and a key presence on the court at the game’s most crucial points.
Real Madrid counted its third defeat in a row and will look to bounce back in the standings when it hosts Alba Berlin this Friday in Round 6.
Usman Garuba’s EuroLeague debut
Despite the defeat, Real’s youngster Usman Garuba left a positive mark on the team in his EuroLeague debut with the team, ending the game with 12 points and four rebounds in 14 minutes.
“We just played a little bit of solo basketball. Of course, we have a lot of quality, but this was 1 against 5 basketball. Like I said before, I hope this is a good lesson for the future. We’re taking too many lessons. It’s very difficult to see where we will finish. Right now we’re not even in the Top 8 and now we have to bounce back”, commented Pablo Laso after the game.
Madrid’s center Jordan Mickey added: “In the EuroLeague, you have to play every minute like it is the last. We had some costly turnovers, some bad transition on defense, we have to improve on that. We are one of the teams everyone wants to beat, we are like the game of the year for them, we have to expect that and be ready to play hard. We need to play harder, play better on defense and have fewer turnovers, then we will be fine.”
Photo credit: EuroLeague