Smashing dunk by Oscar da Silva Photo: City Press
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba Berlin is just one step away from the final of the Basketball Bundesliga. On Sunday, the capital club didn’t give the MHP giant Ludwigsburg a chance in the second semi-final game at home in front of 8089 spectators with a sovereign 100:76 (49:35).
Alba is now leading 2-0 in the series and can already make the finals perfect early on with a win next Friday in Ludwigsburg. Best Berlin throwers were Louis Olinde with 24 and Johannes Thiemann with 22 points.
Praise for top scorer Louis Olinde (right) from his teammate Tamir Blatt Photo: City Press
Coach Israel Gonzalez was only without long-term absentee Marcus Eriksson. His team started with a lot of energy and quickly took a 6:0 lead. But it didn’t take Ludwigsburg long to get into the game either. At first it was balanced. Although Alba was almost always in front, the guests stayed tuned.
Duel of playmakers: Alba’s Maodo Lo versus Ludwigsburg’s Jordan Hulls Photo: City Press
At the end of the first quarter things got more hectic because of many Ludwigsburg fouls. The defending champion had more free throws and was able to pull away a bit. At the beginning of the second section, Alba improved. They picked up the pace and now let the ball run strongly through their own ranks. In the middle of the second period, the Berliners were able to pull away to 16 points (38:22).
At the beginning of the third quarter, Ludwigsburg came back to ten points (49:39). But Alba remained calm and responded with a 16:5 run and for the first time pulled away to 24 points (68:44). The guests didn’t give up, but Alba was now clearly superior and then brought the clear victory to the finish.
