FC Bayern Basketball suffered its next defeat at Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday evening. In Lithuania, the team of Head Coach Pablo Laso lost by the narrowest of margins by 73:74 (44:38)
For years, the “Zalgirio Arena” in Kaunas has been one of the Euroleague’s basketball strongholds. FC Bayern felt the effects of that on Friday evening. However, Zalgiris has struggled at home from time to time recently, as shown by defeats against Asvel or Valencia. And the Lithuanians did not look good at times against Munich either – mainly because they were unable to get a grip on Serge Ibaka. The Spaniard excelled in the end with 20 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
Yet even that did little to help the team of Head Coach Pablo Laso, as the home side had more staying power and secured victory thanks to a furious final spell in which Lukas Lekavicius made his mark as the driving force – also because Leandro Bolmaro missed the buzzer beater. It was Keenan Evans who became the hero of the evening with his lay-up to make it 74:73 with nine seconds remaining. FCB has now lost five away games in a row in all competitions.
Whereas Bayern failed to start a small streak after its victory over Partizan Belgrade, Zalgiris ended its run of four straight games without a win. Rolands Smits played a major part in the success: The Latvian guard proved to be a very keen player and scored a total of 16 points, twelve of which he scored before half-time – all from the three-point line.
Zalgiris Kaunas – Bayern Munich 74:73 (41:43)
Best scorers for Zalgiris Kaunas: Smits (16 points), Dimsa (14), Evans (11), Lekavicius (11), Birutis (10)
Bayern Munich: Ibaka (20), Bolmaro (12), Weiler-Babb (11)
Spectators: 15,000