FC Bayern Basketball win preseason title number two

A short update, since it's so uninspiring to write about games you didn't see - the Bayern Baskets won their second tournament of the preseason (in Mulhouse, France). The first game was played against the French runners-up, Strasbourg IG. A close one from the beginning until the end, Bayern prevailed 78-72 with Vasilije Micic taking over as the main threat, scoring an impressive 21 points.

Strasbourg IG - FCBB

Final score	72-78 (HT 39-45)
Most points	Micic (21), Djedovic (11), Benzing (9)
Most rebounds	Bryant (9), Idbihi (6), Savanovic (5)
Most assists	Djedovic/Gavel (3), Jagla (2)

Day two saw Bayern face the Serbian cup holders from Belgrade, Crvena Zvezda. The Serbians, better known for their football department, managed to keep up throughout the first half but could no longer control Bayern after the big break. A collective scoring effort brought FCBB a comfortable win that, due to the other results, also meant that they couldn't be removed from the first place in this four-team tournament even before the third game was played.

FCBB - KK Crvena Zvezda

Final score	96-70 (HT 44-40)
Most points	Bryant (18), Djedovic (16), Micic (13)
Most rebounds	Bryant (5), Djedovic (4)
Most assists	Bryant/Djedovic/Schaffartzik/Staiger (3)

With the tournament win already set in stone, Bayern didn't need to reveal too much on matchday three against Panathinaikos, the second opponent of the upcoming Euroleague campaign. Lucca Staiger was on fire with 22 points (6/6 3-point attempts), but that wasn't enough to stay undefeated against an opponent who surely didn't play with their strongest team.

Panathinaikos - FCBB

Final score	85-75 (HT 44-36)
Most points	Staiger (22), Savanovic (14)
Most rebounds	Savanovic (7), Gavel (4), Bryant/Schaff. (3)
Most assists	Gavel (4), Micic (3), Benzing (1)

Here's some quick notes:

• The assist numbers were very low throughout the entire tournament, I assume the stats guys weren't very generous.
• Vasilije Micic showed a completely different but just as promising side this weekend, going from assist domination to scoring domination.
• John Bryant seems to benefit a lot from the intense workouts, his numbers are looking good.
• Bryce Taylor, new team captain, didn't participate for a second week in a row. Let's hope the injury isn't more serious than thought.
• Vladimir Stimac, the new center signed from Malaga, won the silver medal at the FIBA World Cup. He played for 11 minutes and got 7 points in the final that Serbia lost against the United States (92-129).
• The preseason ends next weekend with tournament number three. Bayern will face Dunkerque in the semis on Saturday. On Sunday they'll meet either the hosts from Bonn or Zgorzelec, another opponent in the Euroleague group stage.
• We're 12 days away from the competitive season, beginning with the German Supercup: Sep 27 (Saturday), 8.30pm local time, FCBB @ Berlin