From BZ/dpa
The Munich team beat Telekom Baskets Bonn 87:74 (42:44) in the fifth and last game on Wednesday evening, so Alba can prepare for the well-known opponent in the final from Thursday.
On Friday, the Berliners start in their home hall (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) in the best-of-five series against Bayern Munich,
And the anticipation is slowly growing: “Of course it’s been the hot phase the whole time, but now it’s something special again. Now you can really win something. All or nothing, so to speak,” said Alba’s national player Johannes Thiemann on Wednesday.
“It’s a strange situation and the preparation is of course more difficult. But at the end of the day, we’re a team that’s trying to focus on us and impose our game on the opponents,” said Thiemann.
Since Alba had already made the final perfect against Ludwigsburg last Friday, there was now a whole week to prepare. “We had a lot of free time and were able to relax in order to prepare for a tough final series,” reported winger Louis Olinde. However, the video training of the opponent is only available one day before the game.
Nevertheless, Alba sees no major disadvantage in having waited so long for the opponent in the final. “We look more at our things than at the opponent anyway,” said coach Israel Gonzalez. In addition, the opponent does not have more time. The Berliners therefore see the longer break as an advantage. “Obviously it’s better for us and I would always prefer that situation,” Gonzalez said.
In addition, the Berliners can now go into the final with a full cast. There are no more injured players. Even the three-man specialist Marcus Eriksson, who was injured for almost the entire season, is back in team training. “He’s another option for us,” Gonzalez announced.
