Alba Berlin has celebrated another success in the Euroleague after the last two defeats.
The German basketball champions defeated Red Star Belgrade 74:70 (37:35) at home in front of 5,135 spectators. As eleventh in the table, Alba at least kept the theoretical chance of a playoff spot. The best Berlin throwers were Maodo Lo with 22 and Jaleen Smith with 17 points.
National player Johannes Thiemann was back at Alba, but was not used. Tamir Blatt, who was ill, was absent. The Berliners initially had problems finding their offensive rhythm. Thanks to good defensive work, the hosts got into the game better and better in the middle of the first quarter. With a 10:1 run, Alba was able to pull away to 24:15.
In the second period, Red Star then defended more intensively. Bad luck for Alba with some controversial refereeing decisions. The lead melted down to two points by the break because too many throws were given. Especially under the basket there were problems when the 2.21 meter tall Christ Koumadje was not on the field.
Even after the change of sides, the game remained hard-fought. Neither team was able to pull away more than four points. The defensive lines dominated for both teams. However, Alba gained more in the final section. The decision then came 22 seconds before the end when Luke Sikma converted two free throws to make it 74:70.