Bayern edges Brose Baskets to retake top spot

German BBL – After securing two recent key victories over the Fraport Skyliners and Phoenix Hagen, Brose Baskets Bamberg were able to take the lead in the league standings. Their reign atop of Germany’s premiere basketball league was short-lived after an important encounter with one of the BBL’s most formidable juggernauts, FC Bayern Muenchen. Both teams collided in Round 29 of the regular season in what ended up being an exciting and tightly contested duel. FC Bayern Muenchen (25-4) narrowly avoided falling to Brose Baskets Bamberg (24-5) and came away with a one-point victory, 76-75. Bayern now has the solo seat at the top of standings once again, but Brose Baskets proved that they are serious contenders for that spot and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The visiting team from Munich was met with a combination of efficient scoring and aggressive defense from their competitive hosts. Brose Baskets were 17-26 from two-point range and nailed five more treys than Bayern. Muenchen on the other hand, shot .460 from two-point range while only managing to convert four of their 17 shot attempts from beyond the arc. They had to be attack the basket and get their points from the free-throw line, where they successfully sank 18 of their 20 shots from the charity stripe.

Bayern trailed their hosts by six at the halftime and mounted 42-35 rally in order to take away the lead and close out the game. They leaned on the efforts of elite big man John Bryant, who finished the game with 12 points and five assists. Fellow starter Bryce Taylor finished with a game-high 15 points.

Brose Baskets saw four of their players reach double-figures. D’or Fischer led the charge with 13 points and five rebounds. Elias Harris chipped in 12 points off the bench and Jamar Smith and Rakim Sanders each added 11.

The may have ended with Bayern prevailing, but Brose Baskets showed that they should not be taken lightly if or when both teams should encounter one another again in the post-season.

While this was clearly the marquee game of Round 29 of the regular season, here are the results of the other games that took place:

Fraport Skyliners vs. BC Bayreuth, 64-72

Bremerhaven vs. Ludwigsburg, 76-82

EWE Baskets vs. s.Oliver Baskets, 83-75

SC Rasta Vechta vs. Phoenix Hagen, 67-75

Walter Tigers vs. Artland Dragons, 104-64

Ratiopharm Ulm vs. New Yorker Phantoms, 81-79

ALBA Berlin vs. Telekom Baskets Bonn, 93-67

Mitteldeutscher BC Weissenfels vs. TBB Trier, 80-84