By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Partizan Belgrade defeated Bayern Munich 82 – 71 on the road to register its fourth straight win and remain in a solid position in its pursuit to make the playoffs. The Serbian side led even by 20 points, 47 – 67, with seven minutes to play, controlling most aspects of the game especially in the second half.
The quartet of Kevin Punter (19 points), Mathias Lessort (16 points, seven rebounds), James Nunnally (15 points) and Dante Exum (11 points, five assists) scored in double figures for Partizan and led the charge in front of thousands of Grobari that were present in Audi Dome. They made it look like as if it was a home game for their favorite team.
“It’s amazing, really. I have never seen that in my life, playing away, we felt like we were playing home,” said Lessort on the presence of Partizan fans. His team is now rising on a 8-2 record over the last 10 games.
Bayern suffered its third consecutive loss, being unable to cope with the absence of starting center Othello Hunter, apart from Vladimir Lucic. DJ Seeley scored 11 points, Corey Walden had 10 points and Nick Weiler-Babb posted 10 points plus five rebounds for the hosts.
“We played against the team with the best shape in the entire EuroLeague at the moment. I’d say that the end of the second quarter and the third quarter were key factors of this loss,” Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri said. “They were better in the third quarter and we didn’t find a way to play offense.” His team was outscored 12 – 21 in that period after trailing 33 – 39 at halftime, falling way behind.
Partizan coach Zeljko Obradovic commended both his players and the fans of the club. “I want to thank my players because, before the game, we had a lot of problems,” he said. “Three players this time didn’t make our practice yesterday because they were sick. They feel very bad but found the energy and power to help the team. I want to thank them because I believe we played a good game against a good team. And of course, I want to thank these incredible people that support us.”