In the basketball Euroleague, Alba Berlin suffered a defeat on Thursday evening and remains at the bottom of the table.
Alba Berlin suffered a defeat in the basketball Euroleague on Thursday evening. In the Belgrade Stark Arena, the German champions lost 74:88 (44:42) against Partizan and thus remain at the bottom of the European competition. Above all, a weak third quarter brought Alba bankruptcy in the end. The best Berlin pitcher was Maodo Lo with 17 points.
Alba had already been a guest in the Euroleague in Belgrade last week. The Berliners clearly won the game against Roter Stern with 87:72.
Injury-plagued Berliners start well
Against Partizan, coach Israel Gonzalez had to do without six of his players. In addition to the long-term injured Marcus Eriksson, Tamir Blatt, Malte Delow, Ben Lammers, Tim Schneider and Yovel Zoosman were also absent.
Despite the many failures, the Berliners got into the game well in Belgrade and were focused from the start. The hosts didn’t make it easy for them to throw free throws, but Alba kept calm and consistently brought the attacks to an end. In the meantime, the Berliners led by five points (14:9). Shortly before the end of the first half, this focus waned a bit, which the Serbs took advantage of immediately and came back with a 9-0 run.
Alba also got off to a better start in the second quarter and was able to pull away from national player Johannes Thiemann with five points in a row. As the game progressed, it was very intense and repeatedly interrupted due to fouls and discussions. Both teams were now on an equal footing, so the Berliners only went into the half-time break with a two-point lead (42:44).
Belgrade’s offensive rolls over Alba
Back from the dressing room, the hosts now defended aggressively and repeatedly forced Alba to lose possession. It took Israel Gonzalez’s side more than four minutes to get their first points of the second half. Belgrade, on the other hand, showed why its offensive is considered one of the best in Europe and converted one three-pointer after the other. The Berliners went into the final section with a clear 53:77 deficit.
There, Partizan suddenly took their foot off the gas, allowing the guests to get back into the game. Alba hadn’t given up yet and took advantage of the weak phase in Belgrade. Three minutes before the end, the gap was only ten points (70:80). But the race to catch up came too late. In the end, the Serbs brought the game over time and won easily with 88:74. It was the 19th Euroleague defeat in the 26th game for the German champions.
Show: rbb24, March 2nd, 2023, 9:45 p.m
