Brose Baskets beat Bayern Munich to seventh Beko BBL title
June 21, 2015
Brose Baskets Bamberg is German champions after beating Bayern Munich 88:84 in a dramatic Beko BBL game five. The victory made it 3-2 to Bamberg in the best-of-five-series, securing both the seventh Beko BBL title and a spot in next season's EuroLeague.
The team who finished top of the league table missed their first match ball in Munich on Wednesday when they lost 83:73, but sealed the title in front of a 6,800 home crowd at the second time of asking. Germany international Daniel Theis was in excellent form early on, and his team followed suit. After the break, more of the same followed and despite a nervy finish in which Bamberg nearly surrendered an 18-point lead, the win was never really in doubt. Bamberg was guided home by a standout performance from captain and center Trevor Mbakwe, who scored 20 points. Bayern's leading scorer was John Bryant (16 points).
"This is a magnificent result, a great experience," said Bamberg's Italian head coach Andrea Trinchieri after winning his first German championship.
"It's really tough standing here, empty handed," said Bayern's Heiko Schaffartzik. "But Bamberg is deserved champions. They weren't just better than us in the finals, but also in the regular season," said the Germany international.
Bamberg won four consecutive titles between 2010 and 2013 and returned to the summit after changing nearly their entire squad after last season's disappointing quarterfinal playoff exit.
jh/rc (dpa, SID)