Jaleen Smith was with 13 points next to Maodo Lo the best thrower from Berlin Photo: picture alliance/dpa
From BZ editors
The German basketball champion Alba Berlin is only one win away from the title hat-trick in the basketball Bundesliga. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s team won 71-58 (38-26) at Bayern Munich on Tuesday, their 19th game in a row.
IIn the best-of-five series, the capital club increased to 2-0. The Berliners can already secure the title with a third win in front of a home crowd on Friday.
In a fast-paced but often error-prone game in Munich’s Audi Dome, Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith, each with 13 points for Alba, and Munich’s Deshaun Thomas, also with 13 points, were their team’s most successful shots.
Maodo Lo (M) in a group of Munich Photo: picture alliance/dpa
After there had been a three-way festival in game one, both teams failed several times from distance in a chaotic early phase. The fact that Alba was only leading 18:16 at the end of the first quarter was due to their own lack of concentration on the offensive.
As a result, both teams’ graduation rates remained weak. Alba defended cleverly without provoking fouls. Berlin’s Oscar da Silva increased the lead to 24:18 with a remarkable dunk in the middle of the second quarter. Alba coach Gonzalez now saw a variable game from his team, which increasingly benefited from mistakes made by the home side in the build-up game. National player Maodo Lo ensured the deserved 38:26 break with a lay-up.
Alba’s Yovel Zoosman goes to the basket Photo: picture alliance/dpa
After half-time and a hearty speech by Trinchieri, the Munich team fought at eye level in the first few minutes. But stubborn Berliners were unimpressed and combined at will in the direction of the FCB basket. After a temporary 17-point lead, the game looked like a Berlin training game and not like a championship final.
Driven by their home crowd, the Munich team tried to release their last reserves of strength in the final sprint. But the mortgage from the first quarters was too big.
Last year’s champion from the capital brought the comfortable lead over time and can already become champion with a win in game three.
