Guard Jaleen Smith was the best scorer for the Berliners in Ulm with 18 points Photo: picture alliance / Eibner press photo
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba Berlin came back in the quarter-finals of the Bundesliga and drew 1-1 against Ulm in the playoff series.
After the defeat at home on Sunday, the defending champion won after an increase in the second half on Wednesday at ratiopharm Ulm with 91:77 (39:47). It’s now 1-1 in the best-of-five series. The third game will take place in the capital on Friday. The best Berlin pitchers were Jaleen Smith (18 points), Luke Sikma and Gabriele Procida (14 each).
The game started very evenly with high intensity. Both teams needed a few minutes to find their rhythm. The initial phase was characterized by misses and ball losses. Alba was able to pull away slightly to 14:9 in the middle of the first quarter. But it was only a short tour.
Albas Maodo Lo (m.) climbs higher than everyone else to throw Photo: picture alliance / Eibner press photo
Because Ulm now hit his distance shots better. The Berliners, on the other hand, missed many – except for Jaleen Smith. At the beginning of the second period, the guests were again able to pull away slightly to 33:27, but after a time-out from Ulm, that was quickly gone again.
At Alba, the misunderstandings were now piling up, things were coming together less and less. And Ulm punished that with a 12:2 run before the break.
After the change of sides, Alba appeared with a completely different body language. The intensity was now particularly high on defence. Shortly before the end of the third quarter, the guests took the lead again after a long time (59:58).
And as the game progressed, Alba’s confidence returned and they pulled away. In the middle of the last section, the lead was double digits for the first time (79:69). And then they couldn’t take it anymore.