From BZ/dpa
With the home win against Crailsheim, Alba Berlin remains the leader of the basketball Bundesliga. Top performers got the breaks they urgently needed – others stepped in.
The performance was forgiving. Less than 48 hours after the bitter Euroleague home defeat against Valencia, Alba Berlin showed a good reaction at 100:77 at home against the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim. “That hurt against Valencia. You don’t get it, but you gave it your all. And then you’re back here less than 48 hours later. And then to act again with this intensity and unity, that’s really good,” said manager Marco Baldi.
The leaders of the basketball Bundesliga even afforded the luxury of resting captain Luke Sikma and national player Maodo Lo. Lo had slight knee problems. “But nothing bad,” said Baldi. In addition, guard Jaleen Smith was in the squad, but was not used. Breaks for players that are badly needed. “The last few weeks have been tough and it’s going to continue like this,” emphasized the Alba manager.
Others had to do their job. “But that’s exactly the nice thing and players actually like to do it, that they sometimes switch to a different position,” said Baldi. So youngster Malte Delow moved to the playmaker position. “You approach it a little differently beforehand. Think a little differently about the game, what you can do,” said the 21-year-old.
The Berliner completed the challenge, made 13 points and three assists. “He really solved that very well,” praised Baldi. The fact that Alba uses its broad squad throughout the season is paying off. “There are always new formations and they have to find each other. But that’s been going quite well for the whole season,” said Baldi. Delow also agreed: “We are happy that we are getting it so well designed at the moment.”
The Alba manager still found one point of criticism. “Sometimes we don’t play well. Everything looks good there, but the ultimate consequence was missing. That obviously has nothing to do with the opponent, it has more to do with us. It’s an issue we need to address,” he said. Baldi didn’t have an explanation, but a clear demand: “We have to improve there.”
Alba continues on Wednesday in the Euroleague at home against fifth-placed AS Monaco (8 p.m. / Magentasport). The days until then should be used primarily for regeneration. “There are already a lot of smaller injuries, and that’s good if you can figure it out,” said Baldi.