Crazy final quarter secures Alba clear victory against Bayreuth

Alba Berlin has secured an important home win in the basketball Bundesliga.

On Monday evening, the Berliners won a catch-up game in front of 2,601 spectators against medi Bayreuth with 87:53 (35:33). The Berliners remain fifth in the table, but have played fewer games than the competition. The best Berlin throwers were Johannes Thiemann and Oscar da Silva with 20 points each.

Ouch! Johannes Thiemann is cornered by Bayreuth’s Sacar Anim and Martynas Sajus. In the end he still scored 20 points (Photo: City-Press GmbH)

Coach Israel Gonzalez was without long-term absentee Marcus Eriksson and Ben Lammers (muscular problems). In addition, Maodo Lo started the game slightly injured. Tamir Blatt and Luke Sikma were there again after surviving the corona infection. However, the latter has not yet been used again.

In their sixth game within 14 days, the Berliners looked a bit tired from the start. They tried to pick up the pace, but still missed a lot of open throws and even allowed a few easy ones from Bayreuth. The guests held back with a lot of aggressiveness and were able to equalize again and again in the second quarter.

Oscar da Silva laying up against Bayreuth's Terry Allen (Photo: City-Press GmbH)
Oscar da Silva laying up against Bayreuth’s Terry Allen. He also scored 20 points (Photo: City-Press GmbH)

After the change of sides, Alba came out of the dressing room with more energy and after a 9-0 run, was able to pull away in double digits for the first time (49:38). Bayreuth initially stayed tuned with successful long-distance throws.

In the last quarter, however, they ran out of breath. With a 32-0 run, Alba literally played the Franks against the wall and made the decision prematurely.

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