PGE Turow beats Bayern for first-ever Euroleague win

PGE Turow Zgorzelec made club history with an 89-78 victory over FC Bayern Munich for the club’s first ever win in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague. The Polish champs played hard and shot well to improve to 1-3 in Group C, while dropping the visitors to the same record. Turow outrebounded Bayern 41-24 and recorded 21 assists to Bayern’s 13. Damian Kulig shined with 22 points for the winners, Tony Taylor scored 15, Nemanja Jaramaz made 4 of 5 shots from downtown en route to 14 points and 5 assists, Chris Wright did not miss as he reacked up 10 points and Mardy Collins contributed 7 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. Nihad Djedovic paced Bayern with 16 points, Dusko Savanovic and Robin Benzing scored 12 each and John Bryant posted 11 points and 10 rebounds. Djedovic helped the German champs take a small lead late in the opening quarter, but Collins assisted Kulig on back-to-back plays in a 9-0 second-quarter run as the hosts took the lead for good. Bayern closed to 50-49 in the third, but Turow pulled away again and held on till the final buzzer.

First quarter: Djedovic sparks visitors off the bench

Benzing opened the scoring after a quiet first two minutes. Filip Dylewicz put back in a miss to get Turow on the board. Bryant played a big early role with a mid-range jumper and a three-point play, but took a seat after just five minutes with 2 fouls. Taylor’s reverse layup gave the hosts an 8-7 edge. Savanovic and Dylewicz traded triples. Savanovic knocked down an even longer three before Taylor tied the game with a layup. Djedovic stole an inbounds pass and turned it into a layup. Mardy Collins found a cutting Kulig at the other end. Benzing drilled a three before Djedovic gave Bayern a 5-point lead. Wright sank a mid-range jumper, but a clever inbounds play netted Djedovic another layup. Collins’s three-point attempts went in and out to leave the score at 17-22 through 10 minutes.

Second quarter: Turow rebounds and rallies to take lead

Taylor took the ball away from Lucca Staiger for a layup. Vlad Stimac got on the scoreboard at the other end. Vlad Moldoveanu hit a long jumper before Djedovic put Bayern up 21-27 with a three. However Turow responded with 9 straight points. Collins found Kulig for a three and a layup on successive plays to make it 30-27. Bryant scored for Bayern and Djedovic put the visitors up 1, however the center soon found himself sitting with 3 fouls. Taylor sank free throws and after a tremendous effort for an offensive rebound, Jaramaz connected from deep. Moldoveanu added a long jumper before Uros Nikolic’s mid-range jumper made it 39-31. Savanovic ended the Bayern drought with free throws and then a three. Benzing free throws trimmed the gap to 42-39 at halftime.

Third quarter: Six threes see hosts push ahead

Nikolic grabbed a missed three from Wright and scored. Yassin Idbihi scored inside for the visitors. A steal by Collins and jumper from Taylor kept the hosts rolling. Kulig added a jumper for a 48-41 Turow lead. Anton Gavel scored a three from the corner. Taylor lofted a pass that Wright tipped in. Bayern responded with Benzing scoring inside and later grabbing a steal, drawing an unsportsmanlike foul from Wright and splitting free throws for make it 50-49. Jaramaz beat the shot clock with a long three to give the hosts some breathing room. Dylewicz drove and dished to Kulig for a layup. Then Kulig knocked down a triple for a 58-49 lead. Djedovic and Jaramaz traded threes. Djedovic free throws and a Heiko Schaffartzik three narrowed the gap to 61-57. After a timeout, threes from Dylewicz and Collins – the latter after Jaramaz’s offensive rebound – gave Turow its first double-digit lead. Gavel free throws were bettered by Kulig’s third three to make it 70-59.

Fourth quarter: Collins helps Turow seal the victory

Jan Jagla nailed a three and after Kulig missed inside for the hosts, Bryant brought Bayern within 6. Wright soon took a Collins pass in stride for a fast break slam that restored a double-digit cushion for Turow. Taylor added a tough layup as the fans started to sniff victory. The Turow attack cooled down, but its defense held the lead. Bryant twice split free throws. Collins countered with a pull-up jumper. After a timeout, Staiger reeled off 5 quick points to make it 78-71 with more than four minutes to go. Collins hit a tough jumper to keep Turow comfortable ahead. Benzing used some nifty footwork for a score, but Kulig came back with a basket on the offensive glass. Gavel split free throws with 80 seconds remaining to make it 82-76. Jaramaz knocked down a big three to draw Turow closer to victory. Gavel got 2 more from the line, but Turow finished it off with a Kulig triple to celebrate the historic result.