The former basketball champion Alba Berlin has returned to the road to success and to the top of the Bundesliga.
Four days after the EuroLeague defeat at the Spanish representative Valencia Basket (71:79), the capital team in the championship won their fourth league success in a row with 97:81 (49:49) at the end of the sixth match day. Returnees Tigers Tübingen through.
The home team, still winless in front of their home crowd after three attempts, slipped into a relegation zone for the first time during the season due to their fourth defeat in a row.
With five wins and only one defeat, Berlin is now back at the top of the table, level with three competitors. Defending champions ratiopharm Ulm, EWE Baskets Oldenburg and Niners Chemnitz also left the floor beaten only once in their six previous encounters.
To achieve success, Berlin first had to overcome vehement resistance in Tübingen. Before the break, Berlin was unable to use a seven-point lead to keep Tigers coach Daniel Jansson’s team at a decisive distance. After half-time, however, the guests quickly pulled away with great determination and gave Tübingen no chance of their first success against Berlin in almost 13 years.
In Berlin’s coach Israel Gonzalez’s team, Justin Bean stood out with 15 points. Khalifa Koumadje, Gabriele Procida and Yanni Wetzel each recorded 14 points. Celebrating Louis Olinde scored eight points for the guests in his 200th game in the German elite class.
Tübingen’s most successful thrower was Mateo Seric with a brilliant 21 points. The previous league top scorer Jhivvan Jackson, on the other hand, remained with the Tigers with eleven points as the second best Tigers shooter, well below his previous average of 25 points.