Albas Jonas Mattisseck in a duel with Mark Smith from Goettingen; with 14 goals he was together with Johannes Thiemann the best pitcher in Berlin Photo: picture alliance / Eibner press photo
By Nicolas Sowa
The basketball players from Alba Berlin have clinched an important home win and thus again taken over the top of the table in the Bundesliga (BBL). On Easter Sunday, the defending champion won in front of 8799 spectators after a hard fight against BG Göttingen with 91:78 (47:46).
It was the seventh BBL win in a row. The best Berlin throwers were Johannes Thiemann and Jonas Mattisseck with 14 points each
Both teams needed a few minutes to find their way into the game. Alba managed to do it better at first. With good defensive work and good efficiency on the offensive, the lead was already in double digits after five and a half minutes (16:6). But then Göttingen came into play better and scored mainly from a distance. And Alba had big problems with the rebound.
Louis Olinde goes to the basket against two Göttingen Photo: City Press GmbH
Towards the end of the first section, Alba’s thread broke. A lot was discarded offensively and the last access was missing on the defensive. After a 2:12 run across quarters, Göttingen equalized again at the beginning of the second period (29:29). The guests acted very physically, often at the limit and beyond. So the Berliners were almost only at the free-throw line.
After the change of sides, Göttingen took the lead again after a long time (48:47). But Alba now accepted the fight and held up better physically. With a 17:2 run in the third quarter, they pulled away again. In the last quarter, however, the Berliners brought the victory to the finish with ease.