Basketball - Moved to tears: Bayern coach Laso back in Madrid
The applause at his favorite club Real Madrid even moved Pablo Laso to tears. The FC Bayern Munich coach was greeted with applause for several minutes before the Euroleague match with the defending champions from Spain. Laso coached the Madrilenians from 2011 to 2022 and won the Basketball Euroleague twice (2015 and 2018) in addition to six championships.
"The applause for me before the game was very emotional and I'll remember it for many years to come," said Laso emotionally after his first return to Madrid as coach. "It's great when people have fond memories of your time here and respect what you've achieved." However, Laso would also have liked to have received applause for an away win, but it came to nothing against the top team.
The Munich club lost by a clear 73:88 (37:42) at Real Madrid on Thursday evening. With six wins and eight defeats, Bayern remain in mid-table. "It was a tough game against the Euroleague champions. I think we lost our rhythm a bit for two or three minutes. A team like that punishes that," said world champion Isaac Bonga, who was FC Bayern's best scorer with 15 points.
Laso's players were not accurate enough on the floor for a long time. Bonga only scored his first points after just under four minutes. Munich were then in the game and were even 23:19 ahead after scoring from distance (10th minute). However, the title contenders from Madrid turned the game around by the break (37:42).
FC Bayern then got back into the game badly. Real extended its lead to twelve points (45:57/26). However, Bayern fought back and went into the final period trailing by six points (57:63/30). The fourth quarter showed just how strong the commanding Euroleague leaders are. Real quickly pulled away (59:77/36) and decided the game in its favor.
"We know how difficult it is to play against a team like that. You don't have to play perfectly, but they punish every mistake," said Laso. "We didn't make many mistakes, but enough for them to win." Munich continues its Bundesliga campaign at home against ratiopharm Ulm on Sunday (3 p.m.).
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Source: www.stern.de
