Even 15 points from playmaker Tamir Blatt could not prevent the first Euroleague bankruptcy Photo: picture alliance / contrastphoto
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba Berlin suffered its first defeat in the Euroleague after three wins at the start.
On Friday evening, the weakened Berliners lost 74:78 (37:41) despite a big fight at defending champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul.
It was the fourth game in just eight days for the Bundesliga basketball team. The best Berlin throwers were the two Israelis Tamir Blatt and Yovel Zoosman with 15 points each.
Coach Israel Gonzalez was again without the injured quartet of Maodo Lo, Johannes Thiemann, Jaleen Smith and Marcus Eriksson. Both teams hit their shots right from the start. Alba acted absolutely at eye level, and so initially no team was able to break away.
In the second quarter, the guests were able to pull away with eight points (33:25). But Anadolu promptly struck back and regained the lead before the break. After the break, the game threatened to tip over in favor of the Turks when the hosts pulled away to 48:39.
But Alba stayed calm, regained the pace and regained the lead (55:48) after a 16:0 run.
But in the heated atmosphere, things got tight again in the final quarter. The tired Berliners now left too many open throws. The decision came 109 seconds from the end when Anadolu scored to make it 78:72.