By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Wade Baldwin emerged once again as FC Bayern Munich edged Panathinaikos 76-71 at home in Round 28 of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and has taken a step closer towards clinching a playoffs berth after ending the double-game week with two victories.
Baldwin was unstoppable in all ends of the court and exited the game with a team-high of 27 points, 6 assists and 3 rebounds for a total PIR of 34.
“We had a good offense going. Panathinaikos did a lot of switching and its makes the game kind of easy for me. I was able to break us down and find guys. We had a tremendous contribution defensively from J.J. [JaJuan Johnson] today. He stepped up big. Another gutsy win, we finished it out rebounding, getting stops, and that is what led us to win it”, said Baldwin after the big win.
Bayern held off the Green’s comeback in the fourth period after leading 57-55 after 30 minutes to take a step forward in the fight towards a historic qualification to the EuroLeague playoffs with its current 18-10 record.
Vladimir Lucic added up to Baldwin’s efforts with 14 points and Jalen Reynolds had 10 points for Andrea Trinchieri’s squad.
Panathinaikos has already been eliminated from the playoffs race but put up a strong fight in the second half, even if they slipped their third straight game to fall to a 9-17 record.
Newly-arrived Mario Hezonja posted 14 points and 4 rebounds for the Greens, while Giorgos Papagiannis and Lefteris Bochoridis paced Oded Kattash’s squad with 10 points each.
Photo: EuroLeague