AXA FC Barcelona beating Brose Baskets Bamberg 65-69

AXA FC Barcelona held off a spirited challenge in beating Brose Baskets Bamberg 65-69 on the road to improve to 9-5 in Group C. Jaka Lakovic scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter and Jordi Trias collected 9 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks for head coach Dusko Ivanovic’s men. Fran Vazquez had an excellent game as well with 12 points while Ersan Ilyasova came up with 12 points as well. Barcelona out-scored Bamberg 23-14 in the final period to grab the victory. Bamberg finished the season with another loss to drop to 2-12 despite 17 points and 8 rebounds from Predrag Suput. And Darren Fenn added 10 points and 8 rebounds in a losing effort for the German champion.

Mithat Demirel knocked down a three-pointer to start the game as the hosts pulled ahead 5-0. But Bamberg had trouble early dealing with Barca big man Fran Vazquez, who scored two baskets and assisted on another for a 7-6 game. And Alex Acker's long ball evened things at 9-9. Vazquez picked up his second foul midway through the first but Gianluca's triple gave Barcelona its first lead of the game at 11-12. Ersan Ilyasova nailed a trey of his own and Basile's long jumper gave the guests a 12-17 advantage. Robert Garrett's foul shots made it 14-17 but Jaka Lakovic's short jumper after an offensive rebound on a Jordi Trias free throw gave Barca a 14-21 lead, which Tim Ohlbrecht shortened to 16-21 after one period on a dunk.

Bamberg started the second quarter with more energy and Fenn opened things with a three-pointer, which was followed by a Garrett jumper to knot the contest at 21-21. Barcelona finally scored midway through the period on a tough layup by Roger Grimau and a bucket by Albert Moncasi. And a three-pointer and a long jumper by Ersan Ilyasova gave Ivanovic's troops a 23-30 advantage. Baskets by Steffan Hamann and Predrag Suput closed the deficit to 27-31. Barcelona worked the lead back to seven points - at 27-34 - after Moncasi's follow dunk on a missed foul shot. But Ademola Okulaja scored inside and Demirel raced down for a reverse layup to send the teams into the locker rooms with Barca ahead 31-34.

Bamberg grabbed the lead with two baskets to start the second half - by Suput and Hamann. But Vazquez scored a lay-up and two foul shots for a 35-38 lead - only to see Suput even things with a long triple. Trias scored two baskets but Hamann answered with two tough layups of his own, and Suput nailed two more three-pointers for a 48-44 Bamberg advantage. And Garrett's three-ball gave the hosts a 51-46 advantage after three periods.

Lakovic trimmed the margin to two points with a opening triple, which Ohlbrecht answered with a dunk for a 53-49 lead. A Fenn three-ball pushed the advantage to 58-53 but Trias and Grimau scored quick baskets. Lakovic struck from downtown again and Grimau scored a layup but missed the bonus foul shot for a 59-62 Barcelona lead. Okulaja cut the gap to one point only to have Lakovic make two foul shots and a long jumper for a 61-66 lead. Okulaja nailed a three-pointer and the bonus foul shot for a four-point play and a one-point game. But Ilyasova nailed a long jumper with the shot clock winding down for a 65-68 margin. Bamberg turned the ball over and then Hamann missed a three-pointer over Ilyasova with less than 20 seconds left. Alex Acker made one foul shot with 18.7 seconds to ice the game, which ended 65-69.