The playmaker was instrumental in dismantling the Serbian team’s challenge
Carsen Edwards led Bayern’s charge against Partizan
Article
3 Mins read
Regular Season
Round 32 of 34
Group Regular Season
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FC Bayern Munich coasted into the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague postseason with two games to spare after an emphatic 89-74 home win against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade lifted the German champs to 19-13 in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
The result capped a perfect week for Bayern, which ground out a shock 101-102 win at FC Barcelona on Tuesday and is now in contention for a top-four finish following yet another mature performance when the chips were down.
Bayern trailed for much of the first half but turned the matchup on its head late in the third quarter, as Carsen Edwards netted 10 of his 25 points in the third period to help the home team grab a 65-63 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
The hosts never looked back in the fourth and shot the lights out to force Partizan into submission, sinking 13 of 26 from deep through the contest while containing the visitors to 7-of-29 shooting on the back of steely defense in a frantic home stretch.
“I am happy we got the win and I just hope we stay healthy and finish the season strong,” a delighted Edwards said in his postgame comments, having initially been unaware that Bayern had booked its postseason ticket.
“Wow, I didn’t know that,” he said. “We struggled with rebounding in the first half so we were looking to get a couple of stops in the second.”
Shabazz Napier, who was also instrumental with some sublime assists, added: “When you play against Partizan, you know you’re going to have a fight on your hands. We showed resilience today, thriving on the big win against Barcelona in the previous round.”
The success was a fitting reward for head coach Gordon Herbert, who transformed Bayern into a force to be reckoned with after taking over during the off-season following a historic feat of winning the 2023 World Cup with Germany.
The 66-year-old tactician seems to have instilled a new level of confidence while bringing a wealth of experience from a lifetime on the sidelines, having started his coaching career in 1994 at Finnish campaigners Korihait.
Herbert acknowledged that a 13-2 run late in the third quarter and early in the fourth was decisive as Bayern overturned a 54-61 deficit and took the game by the scruff of the neck in the home straight.
“We were searching for energy in the opening 27 minutes and fortunately, the group which was on the court late in the third quarter did a great job,” Herbert said.
“We were down by 7 points and after they tied the game, we took off in the fourth. The defense did a great job and then we got connected as a team and brought it home. It was a team effort as everybody chipped in so all the credit to our players.”
In contrast, Partizan now faces a mountain to climb if the Serbian side is to sneak into the postseason, facing must-win games at Zalgiris Kaunas and at home to Real Madrid while also needing some other results to go its way in the run-in.
Partizan had its fate firmly in its own hands just a few weeks ago when it was in the postseason picture on a 15-12 record, but four defeats in the last five games have derailed its topsy-turvy campaign which got off to a dreadful 2-8 start before a 13-4 streak had put it back on track.