Guard Jaleen Smith was the best thrower from Berlin with 14 points Photo: picture alliance / photo booth
By Nicolas Sowa
Alba has suffered the third defeat in a row in the Euroleague. Despite a temporary 20-point lead, Alba lost 81-88 (44-32) at the Lithuanian top club Zalgiris Kaunas on Friday evening after a slump in the last quarter.
The team coached by Israel Gonzalez now has three wins and three defeats under their belt. The best Berlin pitcher was Jaleen Smith with 14 points and Gabriele Procida with eleven points.
The German champions were still missing the injured Marcus Eriksson, Jonas Mattisseck and Maodo Lo. After a short scan, the Berliners quickly gained momentum even without the trio. With a lot of speed and a good defense, Alba was able to slowly pull away. The guests managed a 19:3 run across quarters.
After 17 minutes, Alba was up 20 points for the first time (43:23). But then the Berliners lost the ball a few times and Kaunas promptly punished the negligence. The Lithuanians also played with more intensity defensively and Alba managed just one point in the last three minutes before the break.
The ball no longer ran so smoothly through the Berlin ranks and they lost control more and more. Four and a half minutes before the end Kaunas took the lead again after a long time (71:70). Alba continued to counter, but the Lithuanians now scored almost at will.
Alba literally went under in the last quarter. The preliminary decision came 64 seconds before the end when Edgaras Ulanova scored to make it 85:76.