By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
With a superb comeback from a 15-point halftime deficit, Baskonia forced Brose Bamberg to close yet another game in a horrible manner, clinching its fifth victory in Euroleague by downing its opponents 81 – 74.
Johannes Voigtmann (20 points, 9 rebounds) and Shane Larkin (15 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) cooperated beautifully to help their team get the wanted result, while Rodrigue Beabois registered a season high of 20 points.
From Bamberg, Darius Miller dropped 16 points, however he missed a chance to perhaps change the fate of his team near the end. With the Germans down 75 – 74 he took a bad choice of a jump shot in the final minute, significantly reducing his team’s winning chances. Ironically, the team’s second top scorer, Maodo Lo (15 points) also made a key mistake in the last minute, dooming his squad by stepping on the baseline with 15 seconds to go and the score 77 – 74.
The way that Baskonia returned in the game and the new… suicide that Brose Bamberg committed were equally impressive. The German team had performed stunning basketball at the first half leading 47 – 32 before the break, but began falling apart from the third quarter onward, progressively losing ground as the game was approaching its final stretch.
Sito Alonso’s players, began chewing more and more pieces of their deficit, cutting it into single-digits near the end of the third period to strike fear into the heart of their opponents. While the Freak City ambassadors once again took a 10-point advantage 58 – 68 with 7 minutes to go, the momentum had shifted on the hosts’ side.
The combined efforts of Larkin and Voigtmann helped Baskonia approach closer, Bamberg made one turnover after the other and missed a series of free throws (especially Daniel Theis who had 1/5) until the hosts’ power-forward tied it 70 – 70. The guests answered by gaining a three-point lead but once more, the aforementioned duo struck to give their team its first lead after the first quarter, making it 75 – 74!
As was the case with so many games so far in the season, Bamberg lost its concentration when it mattered the most, taking the wrong options on offense, thus remaining without any point for the last 2 minutes of the match. Baskonia on the other hand knew what it had to do to stay away from danger and not throw its comeback efforts in the garbage can.