Alba Berlin would certainly have imagined the first game in the Basketball Champions League differently.
At the start of the Basketball Champions League, Alba Berlin suffered a defeat. The Albatrosses lost to the two-time French champion Elan Chalon 76:81 (43:35) on Wednesday evening at home. The outstanding Berlin player was Boogie Ellis with 27 points and 7 rebounds.
In Group B of the Champions League, Alba next has to travel to the Azerbaijani capital Baku, where they will meet BC Sabah next Wednesday. Before that, the Bundesliga goes to Würzburg on Saturday.
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Alba starts strong and then fades
In the Uber Arena, the hosts got off to a lightning start in the competition, in which they took part participate for the first time. Moses Wood and Boogie Ellis gave Berlin a 10-2 lead with quick points after just two minutes, forcing Chalon’s coach Elric Delord to call an early timeout.
However, the Euroleague-experienced coach seemed to have given his team the right input – the French were now much more accurate and caused Alba problems, especially with their strong work in offensive rebounding. They found their way into the game through these second chances and the Albatrosses’ lead shrank to just two points by the quarter break (22:20).
Defensive performance solves Offensive problems
On the sidelines, Pedro Calles became increasingly dissatisfied with the performance of his team, which particularly had problems creating shots. Good ideas on the offensive and courageous basket actions came almost exclusively from Ellis, who therefore always needed to take a breather on the bench.
On the other hand, Alba defended very solidly and with concentration and ensured that the guests could not really exploit the weaknesses in the offensive. In addition, the Berliners seemed to draw strength from their collective defensive performance and found their rhythm again under the opposing basket shortly before halftime. They went into the dressing room with a 7-0 run and a comfortable lead again (43:35).
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Ellis is doubled – Alba without a solution
Back on the floor, Chalon tried to recapture the Albatrosses by doubling their best man Ellis in defense. This idea proved to be an extremely effective tool for the French, who also hit some difficult shots and suddenly took the lead after a good three minutes in the third quarter (44:43).
The eleven-time German champion lacked solutions at times and needed a while to get himself back together and, above all, to get Ellis back into the game. But the Berliners didn’t let themselves be shaken off and the game entered an exciting final section.
Insane threesome seals Alba’s defeat
There, around 8,000 spectators initially saw a head-to-head race with many leadership changes, although Alba couldn’t keep up for long. The home team remained without a point for four minutes and allowed Chalon to pull away to eight points.
Nevertheless, the basketball players from the capital didn’t give up and actually managed to get within two points again with 30 seconds left (76:78). In the French attack that followed, however, Jeremiah Hill hit an incredible three-pointer on the move directly into his defender’s face, thus sealing Alba’s defeat.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, October 8, 2025, 10:15 p.m
