Difficult position: Maodo Lo has three Bayreuthers against him Photo: City Press
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba Berlin narrowly avoided his second defeat of the season in the Basketball Bundesliga.
On Saturday evening, the Berliners defeated medi Bayreuth 91:83 (40:49) at home in front of 7557 spectators after a strong final spurt. The defending champion ran behind almost the entire game. Best Berlin throwers were Jaleen Smith 17 and Yovel Zoosman with 14 points.
Tamir Blatt tries to escape from his opponent Photo: City Press
The hospital cleared up a bit for the German champions. Louis Olinde (after illness) and Jonas Mattisseck (due to injury) returned. But in the fourth game within seven days, the Berliners again found it very difficult and were quickly 6:13 behind. Alba countered with a 10:0 run and was able to at least gain a small lead at the end of the first quarter (27:20).
But the thread broke in the second quarter. Albas missed too many throws, while Bayreuth hit one long-range shot after the other.
The Franconians converted more than 60 percent of their distance shots in the first half. In addition, the hosts had problems with the offensive rebound. Shortly before the half-time break, Berlin’s deficit grew to ten points for the first time (39:49).
Jonas Mattisseck made his comeback after surviving a broken metacarpal Photo: City Press
After the change of sides, Alba increased the intensity on the defensive, but the offensive problems remained. At the beginning of the last quarter, national player Johannes Thiemann was disqualified after two technical fouls. The gap was at times 15 points (61:76).
But that seemed to be a wake-up call, Alba then put on a 24-0 run and was able to pull away decisively.