FC Bayern Munich suffered another defeat in the EuroLeague at Fenerbahce. On the fifth match day, the offense struggled again and the German champions lost 73-88 to the long-unimpressive champions from Turkey.
After a poor start to the season, Fenerbahce got back on track against Bayern, without shining. Mikael Jantunen was the top scorer with 15 points, and former Bayern player Wade Baldwin (13) also impressed. For Bayern, who were disappointing in offense, Andi Obst (13, 3/7 three-pointers) was the only really dangerous offensive player.
The hosts initially looked unsettled, and Bayern quickly took an 8-3 lead. Fenerbahce found its way into the game through its defense, and Munich went more than four minutes without scoring until Obst hit an open three-pointer. Obst was clearly good for Bayern, with almost everything going through the world and European champion. Fener had nine turnovers after one quarter, yet Bayern led “only” 20-14 after ten minutes.
After just 150 seconds, however, that lead was gone because the Turks were no longer throwing the ball away. Bayern, on the other hand, missed production from their guards, with both Kamar Baldwin and Xavier Rathan-Mayes contributing far too little (combined 1/7 FG at the break). Mike was a ray of hope, but that alone was not enough. Fenerbahce had turned the game around and led 37-32 at halftime without shining.
Bayern falls apart after the break
And that lead slowly continued to grow. Fener hit open three-pointers and forced Bayern into many difficult shots. Midway through the quarter, the lead was in double digits for the first time, and Nicolo Melli increased it to 59-45 shortly thereafter. Symbolically, a difficult jumper by Justus Hollatz only hit the side of the backboard. Bayern simply couldn’t come up with anything and the game seemed to be decided before the final quarter (62-46).
And so it was when Scottie Wilbekin sank a difficult three-pointer with the clock running down. Morale was completely broken, heads were hanging, and Bayern needed 3:30 minutes in the quarter to even score. Fenerbahce thus strolled to its second EuroLeague win of the season. The Turks are now level with Bayern, who will not play again until Monday in the cup against Braunschweig, followed four days later by Olympiacos Piraeus at the SAP Garden.