Bayern misses title: Pesic after final blunder: "Never succeeded in forming a team"

Bayern Munich's basketball coach Svetislav Pesic resigned himself to defeat after his team's Bundesliga final loss to Alba Berlin, lamenting his inability to forge a unified squad. In his last match before retiring, the 76-year-old coach watched his team squander a commanding 47:27 halftime lead, ultimately falling 81:84 in the decisive fifth game.

Pesic, who had returned to Bayern in December after parting ways with championship coach Gordon Herbert, acknowledged his shortcomings. "It was never my achievement to form a team out of these players," he stated, reflecting on a season where internal dynamics clearly hampered performance. The experienced Serbian coach, who previously won the Bundesliga with Bayern in 2014, found this comeback ending in disappointment.

The team's struggles were particularly evident in their inability to maintain leads. In both the fourth and fifth final games, Bayern faltered when in strong positions. The final game saw them leading by 20 points at halftime and still by 16 entering the final quarter, only to see their advantage evaporate. "Super frustrated, extremely frustrated," admitted veteran Niels Giffey, a former Alba player, after the loss.

Pesic also alluded to friction with certain players throughout the season, stating, "Some things I do not allow." While he did not specify, his strained relationship with guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who was benched for the final matches after an on-court altercation, and the earlier exclusion of Serbian compatriot Stefan Jovic, suggest underlying team issues. Pesic, however, maintained that the team's collective performance supersedes individual issues, stating, "The team is above everything."