After Bayern struggled to get a foothold in the first half against Red Star Belgrade, they stepped up a gear after the break and ultimately won the game convincingly. Despite so many new signings, the team is already reminiscent of last season’s side.
A mixed first half, a strong comeback in the second, and then victory. That was more or less the story of many of Bayern’s EuroLeague home games last season. Sometimes the Munich team had a difficult start to the game, sometimes they completely slept through the early stages. But often, spurred on by the crowd at SAP Gardens and the hot hands of Carsen Edwards, they came back in the final minutes. Very often, they even won the game in the end. Bayern won a total of 14 games in their new arena last season – a record. Only Panathinaikos managed one more home win in the OAKA cauldron in Athens.
The fact that Bayern are continuing this streak is all the more impressive. The emotional effect of the new arena should actually have worn off by now. Carsen Edwards, the match winner in so many games, is also missing. Instead, the team is starting with a completely revamped squad. To make matters worse, the old players who are still there only started training last Wednesday – not to mention the exertions of the European Championship.
Match report: Nine three-pointers and 31 points: Obst leads Bayern to first EuroLeague victory
Herbert: Obst was fatigued after the European Championship
One of those affected was Andreas Obst, who contributed significantly to the victory in the EuroLeague home opener with his nine three-pointers and 31 points. Coach Gordon Herbert was particularly pleased with this performance, as his protégé, as he says, had to contend with a few problems in the days after the European Championship. “I don’t want to call it a hangover, but it was a kind of fatigue. During the tournament, you’re under pressure, pressure, pressure, and then suddenly it all falls away. He still had problems in the game against Panathinaikos. That made me all the more happy for him today.“
Meanwhile, the shooting guard kept his team in the game when they were struggling defensively. ”I think he made some very important shots in the first half, too. They could have pulled away by ten or twelve points. He gave us back the momentum.“
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Bayern allowed only 33 points in the second half
That was necessary because Munich allowed a whopping 55 points in the first two quarters. ”They had a lot of easy baskets. Switching from offense to defense took too long,“ Obst himself explained. Newcomer Stefan Jovic added: ”It was a very physical game. We were a little too soft in the first half. At halftime, we told ourselves we had to step it up. The third quarter was great for us.”
No doubt about it. Bayern came out of the locker room like a house on fire, or rather like last season’s Bayern. “It was our intensity and our one-on-one defense,” Herbert said of the difference from the first two quarters. Bayern allowed only 33 points to the opponent until the final buzzer.
On offense, Andreas Obst provided the necessary momentum. A total of six of his nine three-pointers came after the break. Shortly before the end of the third quarter, the equally strong Oscar da Silva (12, 6/6) made it +9 – exactly the final score. So it only took one quarter to turn the game around. Just like Munich.