18:59
The Starting Five: Maodo Lô, Jaleen Smith, Louis Olinde, Luke Sikma and Ben Lammers start for ALBA. Christ Koumadje, Tamir Blatt and long-term absentee Marcus Eriksson are unavailable. Lyon starts with Dee Bost, Nando de Colo, Charles Kahudi, David Lighty and Alex Tyus.
18:51
In the first leg, ALBA won 91-79 in Lyon – the win at the end of December marked the end of a twelve-game losing streak. Jaleen Smith was the outstanding man with 21 points.
18:46
“We assume that we will also play there next season. We have already created a position for ourselves over the years,” emphasized manager Marco Baldi. Sports director Himar Ojeda described the strategy as follows: “We cannot and do not want to massively increase our budget overnight and make ourselves a play-off contender. Alba stands for organic growth”.
18:43
The Albatrosses’ EuroLeague wildcard expires at the end of this season. It is therefore still questionable whether the Berliners will also start in the highest European competition in the coming seasons. The decision on where the Bundesliga club will stay will not be made until the end of May. The fact that the Final Four 2024 will take place in Berlin should benefit the albatrosses.
18:31
You don’t have to fool yourself: the game isn’t very valuable from a sporting point of view. The honor is already saved, ALBA can no longer be overtaken by bottom Lyon, even if they lose. It is possible that players will be spared today with regard to the BBL final sprint.
18:21
Have a nice evening and welcome to the last game of the Albatrosses on the European stage for the time being! ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne is a guest in the capital. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.