Alba Berlin is not making any progress in the Basketball Bundesliga. On Saturday (December 28th, 2024), the runner-up lost to Syntainics MBC 76:94 (50:43) in front of 3,000 spectators in the sold-out town hall in Weißenfels after a weak second half.
Alba remains in the bottom third of the table after seven defeats in eleven games. The best Berlin throwers were Matteo Spagnolo with 16 and Yanni Wetzell with 15 points.
Alba’s injury problems just won’t stop this season. In the short term, coach Israel Gonzalez had to do without Louis Olinde (foot problems), Matt Thomas and Ziga Samar (both infections). Gabriele Procida was there again.
Hectic start with lots of mistakes
Alba initially found her way into the game better in the hectic opening phase with many mistakes on both sides. The Berliners were very attentive defensively and were usually narrowly in the lead. The MBC had problems under the basket, but held on thanks mainly to successful three-point throws.
In the middle of the second quarter, the Berliners were able to pull away for the first time with 13 points (40:29). However, they failed to make the lead even clearer in this phase. And the half-time plan to better defend the MBC’s long-range shooters promptly backfired.
Slump in the second half
After the break they conceded five in a row. After a 4:19 run they were significantly behind for the first time (54:62). At the end of the third quarter, Alba recovered and equalized again (62:62). But at the beginning of the last section there was another 0:15 run.
Würzburg wins in Bonn
Meanwhile, the Würzburg Baskets won after a late comeback against the Telekom Baskets Bonn and are back level with league leaders Bayern Munich.
In the 90:81 (42:51) win on the Rhine, the guests were still eight points behind in the final quarter before a run of twelve points gave them the lead for the first time. Jhivvan Jackson and Zac Seljaas were the most successful Würzburg shooters with 21 points each, and Bonn’s Bodie Hume also scored 21 points. It was the third success in a row and the eighth in the eleventh game of the season for the second-place team.
Ludwigsburg clearly beats Frankfurt
The MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg clearly defeated the relegation-threatened Skyliners from Frankfurt 82:61 (42:26) and thus moved up to fifth place in the table. The Rostock Seawolves also won 92:78 (50:43) against Veolia Towers Hamburg and moved past the Hanseatic League in the table.
Braunschweig defeated Oldenburg by a narrow margin
On Friday, the Löwen Braunschweig defeated the EWE Baskets Oldenburg by a narrow margin of 83:82 after a ten-point lead at the break. The Bamberg Baskets also narrowly won over the Niners Chemnitz with 81:80 (42:37).
Game scene from the game between the Baskets Bamberg and the Niners Chemnitz in the BBL