Efes Istanbul’s Chris Singleton tries to block Alba’s Jaleen Smith. Smith was Alba’s top pitcher with 25 points Photo: City Press
By Nicolas Sowa
Crazy win by Alba Berlin against the reigning Euroleague champion. The team lost a 19-point lead against Efes Istanbul, but then won in the last second.
On Thursday evening, the team of coach Israel Gonzalez won in front of 8995 spectators against defending champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul thanks to strong nerves with 95:93 (49:40). For the Berliners it was the fifth competitive win in a row, but the capitals remain penultimate in the premier class. Best Alba throwers were Jaleen Smith with 25 and Maodo Lo with 16 points.
Albas Maodo Lo (right) hangs from Istanbul’s Shane Larkin Photo: City Press
A fast-paced encounter developed from the start, in which both teams immediately found their throwing rhythm. The Turks in particular, who were loudly supported by many fans in the hall, hit almost every shot in the early stages. Alba was quickly 9:16 behind. But the Berliners were not shocked and responded with an 11-0 run.
Now Alba took the lead and didn’t give it up for a long time. Although the Berliners allowed too many offensive rebounds, they otherwise defended very intensively. So it was no longer so easy for the guests to score points. And on the offensive, the Berliners acted variably and almost always found solutions.
Jaleen Smith against Istanbul’s Vasilije Micic and the German top center Tibor Pleiss (r., 2.18 meters) Photo: City Press
Alba continued to dominate the game after the change of sides and, after a 12-2 run, pulled away to 19 points (61-42). But then there was a break in the game of the hosts. The guests built up too many ball losses. In the middle of the last quarter, Alba was suddenly seven points behind (75:82). Now it became a thriller because the Berliners kept fighting. They equalized again 30 seconds before the end (93:93).
And the fight was rewarded. Because 1.3 seconds before the end Luke Sikma stuffed the ball into the basket to win.