AUDIO: RASTA Vechta misses first match point against ALBA Berlin (1 min)
basketball
As of: May 24, 2026 8:48 p.m
The decision about the semi-finals was postponed again: The basketball players from Rasta Vechta conceded the equalizer in the play-off series with a 79:85 (44:44) win against Alba Berlin on Sunday evening. It’s the fifth and final game.
And the impression remains that Lower Saxony could have avoided this final. Coach Christian Held’s team made too many mistakes in the Rasta Dome and woke up too late in the final quarter. So only Rasta’s ex-coach Pedro Calles (2015 to 2020 in Vechta), who now holds the trump cards again with his team in the quarter-finals, could be happy.
Vechta surprisingly won the first game in Berlin (103:89). Alba then celebrated a home win (90:85), but after the 91:82 in their first home game, Lower Saxony had match point. But it remained unused – the decision will be made next Wednesday (6.30 p.m.) in Berlin.
Alba moves ahead to ten points…
The Lower Saxony team actually got into the game very well. Lloyd Pandi and Alonzo Verge Jr. hit their lay-ups at the start and when Luc van Slooten also sank a three-pointer, the outsider led 9:4 (2nd) – the hall in Vechta was boiling.
But this time Alba was much better prepared for the opponent, came back quickly and took the lead for the first time thanks to a three-pointer from Martin Hermannsson (11:9/5.). The Berliners were focused and took advantage of their chances: 40 seconds before the end of the first quarter, Michael Rataj put the ball in the basket for a ten-point lead (28:18). The Rasta fans were visibly and audibly upset.
… but Rasta is coming back strong
The defense was Vechta’s guarantee of success in their first victories. And just before the siren it finally worked: TJ Bamba got the ball and scored with a dunk (21:28). It was something of a wake-up call for the home team, who were much better in the game again in the second half. Malik Parsons shortened the score to 25:28 (12th) with two free throws.
Suddenly the underdog was really in the game, Berlin had to fight for every throw and every point. A little later, Tevin Brown scored from outside for three – Vechta took the lead (39:38/17th) and even extended the lead (44:41). But Berlin’s Alex O’Connell had the last word, his three-pointer ensuring the draw at the break.
Vechta fights until the end – in vain
In the second half it was an open, sometimes wild game. Alba initially pulled away to five points (51:46/23rd), Parsons then brought Vechta back into the lead with a three-pointer (58:56/27th). At the last break, Berlin was again five points ahead (65:60).
Van Slooten could have equalized in the 32nd minute, but his three-pointer landed on the edge of the basket (62:65). Shortly afterwards, Alba led by seven. It was symbolic. The balls stopped falling in. When the score was 65:71, van Slooten even threw an airball from the corner (35th). Two minutes later the Berliners led by ten (75:65/37.).
But that wasn’t the decision yet. And just as Lower Saxony was now fighting for a place in the semi-finals, the audience became so loud in the final minutes. Tibor PleiĂź, Tommy Kuhse and Verge converted three threes in a row – and suddenly it was 79:79 (39th). But a loss of the ball by Verge was costly. Alba pulled away again and deserved to win overall.
