Yovel Zoosman (here against Bayern) was the best thrower with 15 points Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ/dpa
Alba Berlin mastered its dress rehearsal before the start of the basketball Bundesliga with ease. On Sunday in Oranienburg, the Berliners defeated their league rivals Rostock Seawolves 88:63 (43:31) in the last friendly.
Best Berlin throwers were Yovel Zoosman with 15 and Captain Luke Sikma with 13 points. Alba starts the new season on Wednesday with a home game against Veolia Towers Hamburg (7 p.m. / Magentasport).
Coach Israel Gonzalez rested Maodo Lo and Johannes Thiemann, who only returned to team training on Friday. The injured Malte Delow and Marcus Eriksson were also absent.
The Berliners needed a few minutes to find their rhythm against the promoted team. There were still coordination problems, especially on the defensive.
However, Alba improved, especially since Rostock left some open throws. At the beginning of the second quarter, the Berliners led by two digits for the first time (35:22). The German champions didn’t allow much defensively until the break.
Gonzalez made a lot of changes and Alba initially found it more difficult after the break. This was also due to the fact that Rostock played more aggressively and the Berliners left a few open throws in this phase.
So the lead melted down a bit in the third quarter (52:47). But Alba remained unimpressed, improved again and pulled away again.