ALBA Berlin, FC Bayern Munich play to draw

Game 2 of the Eurocup Eighthfinals series between German League foes ALBA Berlin and FC Bayern Munich will be a winner-takes-all affair after the two sides played to an 82-82 tie in Game 1 at Mercedes-Benz Arena in the German capital on Wednesday. It was their second meeting in four days after ALBA edged Bayern in Munich in the German Cup final on Sunday. ALBA led by as many as 9 in the third quarter and Bayern surged ahead to lead by 7 in the fourth before the game finished even. Elmedin Kikanovic paced the home team with 24 points, Jordan Taylor added 18 points, 5 assists and 5 steals, Dragan Milosavljevic tallied 17 points and 6 assists and Kresimir Loncar scored 13 in defeat. Dusko Savanovic led Bayern with 15 points and 7 rebounds, Paul Zipser scored 14, Anton Gavel and Deon Thompson added 13 points apiece and Bryce Taylor 10.

Kikanovic scored the first two baskets for ALBA before Bryce Taylor made free throws to get Bayern on the scoreboard. Bryce Taylor’s triple gave the visitors their first lead, 6-7. ALBA took control with a 12-0 charge, which started with Milosavljevic’s three-pointer and then featured 9 points from Loncar to lead 20-9. Gavel scored 4 points to help Bayern close the gap and then he ended the quarter with a jumper that made it 22-19. Alex Renfroe brought Bayern within 1 early in the second quarter, but 3 free throws by Milosavljevic kept the hosts on top. After the teams traded scores for several minutes, a Renfroe steal led to a Zipser slam and Justin Cobbs Came off the bench to tie it at 33-33. Kikanovic hit back with a pair of baskets, though a Renfroe triple kept Bayern close. ALBA made a late push on free throws by Kikanovic and Jordan Taylor sandwiched around an Alex King triple to lead by as many as 9, but Zipser’s three made it 47-41 at the break.

Bayern scored the first 7 points of the second half to take the lead on a Savanovic basket. Loncar and Milosavljevic came to ALBA’s rescue and pushed the score to 56-51 midway through the quarter. Ismet Akpinar hit a three to further boost the hosts. It was 65-56 after a fast break layup from Milosavljevic. However a Zipser triple revived Bayern, Thompson added free throws and Gavel ended the quarter with a three-pointer to close the gap to 67-64. Savanovic completed Bayern’s comeback with a bucket to make it 69-70. The visitors extended the lead on a triple by Savanovic and free throws by Renfroe and Bryce Taylor to make it 71-78. Jordan Taylor’s three-point play trimmed the deficit and Kikanovic made it 79-80 with a three-pointer. Jordan Taylor split free throws with just over a minute left to even things at 82-82. But neither team scored in the final minute and the game finished in a tie.