In addition to the Bayern basketball championships, two jerseys also hang under the roof of the SAP Garden: Demond Greene’s number 24 and Steffen Hamann’s number 6. They were originally immortalized in 2015 in the hall that is now called BMW Park. That was a year after the first German championship of this century. And now, ten years later, a team is playing in Munich again that is on the verge of taking the club to the next level: that of a top European team. And when it comes to documenting this journey one day, last Friday evening will play an important role.
It’s also highly likely that a number 13 jersey will hang up there at some point. The bearer of this number is already a world champion, and now he has achieved another major individual record. “Hats off to the guys that they had this on their radar,” said Andreas Obst about the minutes before his record. Some teammates had noticed that he was only one more three-point shot away from a new Euroleague record, so they wanted to create another shot for him.
:“It’s cool if you’re not the favorite everywhere”
Before the start of the final round, national player Andreas Obst explains why the championship title is a must for FC Bayern, how great the chances of a World Cup medal are in the fall and why he would end his career as the father of triplets.
Obst once again fools his pitiful opponent Dario Brizuela, 37 seconds before the end of the game he jumps one last time, the ball is on the move for another 1.3 seconds, it is Obst’s sixteenth three-point throw against him that evening FC Barcelona, and the eleventh who sits. Thunderous cheers in the sold-out hall again. From Bayern’s perspective, this record has, in addition to the pride, the nice side effect that the old one has now been erased. Because one of the three players who managed ten threes, Shane Larkin, did it against Bayern in 2019.
It’s understandable that this individual record was celebrated so much; the nice thing about US sports is that you can easily break down superiority into individual numbers. But this record is also an expression of much more. 100:78, outclassed the great FC Barcelona – now there is no turning back. From now on, Bayern will be taken seriously by Europe’s elite. And if they continue to play like this, they will be included in this circle.
Coach Gordon Herbert gives the Bayern players freedom, which they gratefully use to achieve top performances
Gordon Herbert takes a seat in the press room and first opens a Coke. The 65-year-old head coach keeps rubbing his eyes; he looks tired, almost as if he had been playing along. He had been sick the week before, but maybe it’s just a strenuous job he has. Something you don’t always notice in everyday basketball life with your busy schedule. Especially when the game seems effortless. Of course, there is still room for improvement, says Herbert, but “the team is now developing an identity” and they made a leap three or four weeks ago.
Even later, shortly before midnight, fruit comes again from the VIP area, where it is of course also celebrated. “Definitely,” he answers the question about team identity. “The last few games, the way we moved the ball, it was very, very cool,” said the 28-year-old. A lot of things come together. The new SAP Garden, which some already called the Fruit Garden on Friday evening, is developing a reputation thanks to the unbeaten series in the Euroleague. The Bayern squad has a lot of “shooting power”, as Obst says, it is incredibly difficult to get all of Bayern’s long-range shooters under control. Obst finds that, especially when he and Carsen Edwards are on the field together, “spaces open up.” The two of them scored 59 points together, Obst on 34, Edwards on 25.
The coach obviously talks about mistakes, but Obst talks about Gordon Herbert the way experienced footballers talk about Carlo Ancelotti or Ottmar Hitzfeld: “He gives everyone a little bit of freedom to develop themselves,” and no one should “get too stuck in tactics “. In short: Bayern are well on their way to regularly putting their strengths on the field.
Ironically, this record occurred on an evening when Herbert’s successor as national coach was having a difficult time. Alex Mumbru lost his debut against Sweden with 72:73 points, even though David Krämer scored even more points than Obst in Munich, namely 43. The fact that players like Obst couldn’t be there will further fuel the eternal, hard-to-resolve debate about the busy schedule of professional basketball players. He will most likely not be there on Monday when the national team welcomes the Swedes for the second game in Heidelberg, which is only a good 300 kilometers away.
“That’s not on my radar now, it wasn’t communicated that way in advance,” said Obst on Friday about a possible participation – not even in the event of an opening defeat. “I assume that I can clear my head for a day or two.” Which in turn should give the opponents a headache.
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