The German basketball champion Alba Berlin suffered the next defeat in the Euroleague. On Tuesday, in front of 4,500 spectators in the Max-Schmeling-Halle, the capital city lost to leaders FC Barcelona 79:95 (39:47).
This further reduced the chances for the twelfth place in the playoffs. Best Berlin throwers were Oscar da Silva with 13 and Jaleen Smith with twelve points.
Coach Israel Gonzalez had to do without international player Johannes Thiemann alongside the long-term absentees Marcus Eriksson and Louis Olinde. But Maodo Lo was there again.
But his team needed to find the rhythm on the offensive. Too many free throws were given in the early stages.
But Alba fought very hard defensively. In the middle of the first quarter, the hosts equalized again to 11:11. However, it should remain the last draw. Because whenever the Berliners fought, Barcelona had an answer and punished mistakes ice cold. And Alba made too many of them in the first half.
Even after the change of sides, Barcelona remained unimpressed and scored almost at will. The hosts didn’t have much to counter that at this stage. The deficit increased to 22 points in the third quarter (51:73).
But Alba fought to the end and never gave up. However, they did not come closer than ten points.