Alba Berlin clearly won its first home game of the still young Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) season. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s team beat Hakro Merlins Crailsheim 110:75 (59:40) on the second matchday and is currently top of the table with two wins.
The Albatross’ best scorers were world champion Johannes Thiemann and ex-NBA professional Matt Thomas with 16 points each. On the Crailsheim side, new signings James Murray Boyles collected the most points with 19 and Prince Oduro with 13.
For Johannes Thiemann it was the first appearance in front of a home crowd since winning the World Cup title in Manila. Before the game, the newly crowned Alba captain was enthusiastically received and honored by the fans and the club board for his performance in the Philippines.