From BZ/dpa
Alba manager Marco Baldi worried about the mood of his team on Thursday evening after the bitter third Euroleague bankruptcy in a row.
“You have to get over it first. If you always have the feeling that we are equal, but you still stand there empty-handed, then you don’t get much further. You have to be careful that nothing solidifies,” he said after the 88:94 home defeat against Valencia Basket.
For a long time, the Bundesliga basketball club was on par with Valencia in the premier class, but in the end there was only one more narrow defeat. As so often this season in the Euroleague. Baldi therefore fears a standstill. “If we win against a really good opponent, we can always develop a bit, so to speak,” he said.
In addition, there is once again hardly any time to relax. On Saturday, things will continue at home in the Bundesliga against Hakro Merlins Crailsheim (6 p.m. / MagentaSport). “It’s not easy to find the intensity we need a few hours later after a game like that. But that’s the job,” said Baldi. In contrast to the Euroleague, Alba is enthroned in the domestic league in first place.
Johannes Thiemann laying up against the Spaniards Photo: City Press
“The shape curve is still going up. We can continue to go into the next games with confidence and a positive feeling. And there are completely different teams in the league. You have a lot of strong opponents, but the Euroleague is something else,” said national player Johannes Thiemann.
However, the Berliners do not want to underestimate Crailsheim, who are in eleventh place. “A team that is below expectations and they have already done everything possible. But we’ve played a couple of impressive games now,” Baldi warned.
The capitals are the clear favourites. “It will be up to us how much we let them get going,” said the Alba manager.