The best Berlin thrower was Yanni Wetzell with 21 points Photo: picture alliance / contrastphoto | O. Behrendt
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba Berlin suffered its first home defeat in the Basketball Bundesliga. After a very weak performance, the Berliners surprisingly lost at home in front of 8244 spectators against the Central German BC with 75:108 (37:57).
For the MBC it was the first victory ever in the capital – in the 19th attempt. The best Berlin thrower was Yanni Wetzell with 21 points, while at MBC Chris-Ebou Ndow had 23 points.
Coach Israel Gonzalez was without experienced duo Matt Thomas (foot injury) and Sterling Brown (knee ligament injury). World champion Johannes Thiemann also got a break. In contrast to Alba, the guests were wide awake from the start. The Berliners lacked the necessary intensity on defense and also allowed the MBC too many offensive rebounds.
Christ Koumadje cleans you up Photo: picture alliance / contrastphoto | O. Behrendt
Alba was behind from the start. Even on the offensive there was hardly anything going on against the very physical guests from Weißenfels. Lots of technical errors, hardly any speed, lots of missed throws. Out of ten attempts, only one three-point throw found the basket. And the MBC punished that coldly, pulling away to 20 points against the now desolate Berliners after a 22:4 run at halftime.
Anyone who expected Berlin to come back big after the break was disappointed. The hosts could hardly think of anything to do against the guests who were playing themselves into a frenzy. In the third quarter the deficit had grown to 27 points (51:78). In the last section, Alba achieved almost nothing.