In a game that was exciting until the end, Alba Berlin made it into the quarterfinals of the Basketball Cup.
The first round of the Basketball Cup between Alba Berlin and Bonn was hard-fought and fast – with the better end for the defending champion. With 98:95 (45:49) the Berliners prevailed on Monday evening and advanced to the quarter-finals. For a long time, however, they ran behind a deficit.
False start for Alba
With Maodo Lo, Jaleen Smith, Marcus Eriksson, Johannes Thiemann and Ben Lammers, the Berliners had to do without five players. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s team got off to the worst possible start with numerous turnovers. Bonn, on the other hand, was there from the start with a strong defense and good pace – and so the guests quickly took a 9-0 lead.
Clever Bonners force Berlin to lose the ball
Alba then used his size advantages and came back through many offensive rebounds. Towards the end of the first quarter, the defending champion took the lead for the first time at 21:19 after successful free throws by Yovel Zoosman. Bonn kept up the pace and took a 27:24 lead into the second quarter.
With their clever game, they put the capitalists under pressure and forced them to lose possession and throw difficult shots. Because Alba’s offensive still managed to do a lot of good actions, they only went into the break with a narrow 45:49 deficit.
15-point run brings Alba back
The Berliners kept chasing after this because they didn’t know how to stop the visitors’ offensive. TJ Shorts in particular hit at will. After a 7-0 run in Berlin, Louis Olinde managed to catch up to 67-69 with an important three-pointer. Because the defending champion extended his run to 15 points, they went into the final section with a 75:69 lead.
But the guests also fought back, Jeremy Morgan converted a three-pointer to 87:85. In a tight final phase, however, the defending champion narrowly prevailed and advanced to the next round. There they have to play away in Göttingen, as the draw showed immediately after the game. The quarterfinals will be played on December 3rd and 4th.
Broadcast: rbb24, October 17, 2022, 9:45 p.m
