First victory for the big favorite. The Bayern basketball players have arrived in the championship tournament. The clear success against Crailsheim was not an indicator in the end. The opponent lacked too many important players for this.
Munich (AP) - Top favorite Bayern Munich celebrated their first victory at the championship tournament of the basketball Bundesliga.
Two days after the surprising defeat against ratiopharm Ulm, the defending champion prevailed against the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim with 110: 79 (51:35) in his own Audi Dome without a spectator. The best pitcher at Bayern was Mathias Lessort with 20 points.
"We gave a good answer to the first game," said Bayern coach Oliver Kostic. The Munich trainer also saw a lot of room for improvement. "That was just a first step. The tournament is long. And to be there for a long time, we have to keep improving day by day."
In the badly battered Merlins, who had to do without their ailing star player DeWayne Russell, Sebastian Herrera came to 27 points. It was the second loss for Crailsheim. In the second game of the day, the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and ratiopharm Ulm will face each other from 8.30 p.m. (Magenta sports).
After the disappointing performance in the opening defeat against Ulm, the Bavarians also needed a few minutes against Crailsheim under the watch of Honorary President Uli Hoeneß. Until the middle of the first quarter, the very weak substitute Merlins were able to make the game open (11:11), then the Munich team made a decisive difference with a 15-0 run.
Bayern coach Oliver Kostic had appointed Ismet Akpinar to the starting line-up for the first time. The international, who had been signed for the Besiktas Istanbul tournament, had surprisingly watched Ulm completely. Now he came to Bayern for the first time and contributed nine points and two assists to victory. "It was okay. I was happy that I could play again," said Akpinar.
Especially after the change of sides, the game was nothing more than a show for Bayern. Crailsheim had to cope with the departure of some top performers before the tournament. The absence of Russell now hurt even more. A bitter development for the Merlins, who were the third surprise team of the season until the season break due to the Corona crisis in mid-March.
The Bavarians, on the other hand, want the title, but will have to improve further. For Hoeneß, the tournament in Munich is a great thing, especially when it comes to the whole sport. "For basketball, I think it's a great opportunity to present yourself to a huge audience every day for at least three weeks," said Hoeneß (68) at "Magentasport".
Information about the tournament on the BBL homepage
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