The Alba Berlin basketball team won their last away game in the Euroleague. On Friday evening, thanks to strong nerves, the Berliners won in the final phase against Greek runners-up Panathinaikos Athens with 88:84 (49:42).
It is therefore clear that Alba will not end the season in the premier class last. The best Berlin throwers were Jaleen Smith with 14 and Maodo Lo with 13 points.
The German champions, who had to do without the injured and ill trio of Marcus Eriksson, Tamir Blatt and Gabriele Procida, started the game with a high level of concentration and got off to a strong start. After less than four minutes, the guests were already 12:2 ahead. As in the last few games, the defense worked well again. So it was initially possible to keep the Greeks at a distance.
Lo makes the victory perfect
But things got hectic in the second quarter. This was mainly due to several controversial decisions by the referees, who had no line at all. And the louder the frustration among the home fans became, foul whistles against the Berliners rained down. Malte Delow already had four fouls on his account in the middle of the second period. Panathinaikos closed the gap to three points again (41:38), but Alba countered before the break.
Shortly after the change of sides, the lead was double digits again (53:42), but then the offensive line broke with the Berliners. Too many throws were given. After almost 27 minutes, Athens took the lead again after a long time (57:56). But Alba recovered and the lead switched back and forth. It stayed tight until the end. The decision came 17.4 seconds before the end when Lo converted two free throws to make it 86:84.