MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg secured their first-ever victory over FC Bayern Munich at the Audi Dome as they prevailed 87-83 in Game 1 of the easyCredit BBL Final Tournament 2020 Quarter-Finals and will go into Game 2 on Friday, June 19 with just a slender lead.
The game was essentially the first half of an 80-minute game with the scores of the two contests being added up and the aggregate score winner advancing.
Hans Brase poured in a career-high 18 points to pace four players in double figures for Ludwigsburg, who had lost their previous 13 road games in Munich. Marcos Knight collected 17 points and 11 rebounds, Thomas Wimbush tallied 16 points and Jaleen Smith added 13 points, 5 rebounds and 6 assists. Ludwigsburg can be happy that they won the game despite a number of their players having subpar games and missing a lot of layups.
The two-time reigning league champs Bayern were led by Danilo Barthel with 20 points with TJ Bray tallying 12 points and Leon Radosevic and Maodo Lo both scoring 11 points. Bayern turned the ball over 17 times and allowed 17 Ludwigsburg offensive rebounds.
Bayern had the better start to the game with Bray opening the game and Barthel’s three-point play making it 9-2. Ludwigsburg raced back into the game thanks to the unexpected contribution from Brase, who scored nine points – including seven straight – in a 14-1 run for a 16-10 lead. Brase added his second three-pointer and Ludwigsburg led 21-15 after 10 minutes.
Lo started a 9-0 Bayern run early the second quarter to put them ahead 26-23. Nick Weiler-Babb’s first score had Ludwigsburg back up 27-26 but Bray sparked a 11-5 surge with two three-pointers and Munich were leading 39-34. And the gap was 42-36 at the break.
A Lo three-ball helped Bayern increase the advantage to 47-36. Wimbush drained a three-pointer and started to have a bigger impact with a big dunk and block in helping Ludwigsburg get within 54-50. Radosevic responded with five straight points and Bayern’s cushion was 59-53. Paul Zipser added a three-point play and Munich led 65-59 after 30 minutes.
Treys from Wimbush and Weiler-Babb evened the game right away in the final frame through Vladimir Lucic knocked down two long balls and Bayern were up 75-69. Ludwigsburg came back with a big punch as Smith’s trey finished off a 13-2 run for an 82-77 advantage for John Patrick’s team. Bayern did manage to pull back ahead through Zipser and Barthel only to see Brase score yet again and Smith finish off the scoring with a three-pointer.
QUOTES: Ludwigsburg’s Hans Brase: “We started strong. We played with energy and gave the open man the ball and it worked. But it’s only halftime in this format. We have to keep going and play another 40 minutes.”
(About his performance): “I hit some open shots and a couple layups. My teammates gave me the ball in good positions and I was successful today. But like I said, it’s only halftime.”
Ludwigsburg’s John Patrick: “It’s halftime. We are playing an 80-minute game. It’s halftime. We have a four-point lead. It was not always pretty but it was super intensive. It was playoff basketball. And I am very proud how we did not give up despite missed dunks and other things and kept fighting and showed super morale. But that was a very intensive, physical game. We have to finish off this job in two days.”
“That was a work-man’s victory. I don’t know. We didn’t shoot particularly well. Hans was super. He had his best game of the season today. Even though we had 12 turnovers – which is a lot more than our average – we fought and I am very proud.”
Bayern’s Danilo Barthel: “We had too many turnovers and allowed too many second chances which they took advantage of with three-pointers.”
“We knew that it was only halftime and there is a second game and every point counts.”
(What needs to be done better in second game): “We definitely have to rebound better and continue to play aggressively.”
Bayern’s Oliver Kostic: “My team was fighting well. We played well. This is playoffs time. There is no nice basketball. We fought. Okay, this is the first half. They got this win, but we will prepare for the next game.”