With the ninth win in a row, Alba Berlin has defended its lead in the Bundesliga.
After initial difficulties, the defending champion won against the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim with 100:77 (48:37).
With a record of 15:1 victories, the capital club still ranks ahead of Telekom Baskets Bonn (14:2).
At the beginning, however, Crailsheim surprised the Berliners. Guest trainer Nikola Markovic’s team led 23:10 (7th minute), also thanks to Maurice Stuckey, who scored a total of 18 points. However, the title favorite quickly showed a reaction.
Alba turned the match around with a strong second round (32:12) and, after the break, significantly extended the lead against overwhelmed guests. The best scorer for the hosts was Tim Schneider with 14 points. Six other Berliners also scored in the double-digit range.
Oldenburg catches up 18 points behind
EWE Baskets Oldenburg remain on course for the playoffs with a 75:71 (26:36) win over MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. Lower Saxony caught up an 18-point deficit.
After the small intermediate high with four wins in a row, the former series champion Brose Bamberg suffered the third defeat in a row with 87:107 (45:44) at ratiopharm Ulm. The Brazilian Yago dos Santos scored 33 points for Ulm.
Playoff contenders Würzburg Baskets lost 82:93 (43:43) at the MLP Academics Heidelberg. The Rostock Seawolves narrowly defeated the Syntainics MBC from Weißenfels with 79:77 (38:37).