Stormed the Bavarian fortress, took three match balls with them: Alba Berlin is on a master class.
The capital city also prevailed in game two of the final classic of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) at FC Bayern Munich with 71:58 (38:26) on Tuesday and are only one win away from the eleventh title.
The decision can already be made in Berlin on Friday (7:00 p.m./Sport1 and MagentaSport).
National players Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith were the best throwers for the Albatrosses, each with 13 points, and celebrated their 19th win in a row in front of 6,500 spectators. The 13 points of the American Deshaun Thomas were not enough for the tired Munich team in their own hall.
In the best-of-five series, coach Andrea Trinchieri’s team now needs three wins in a row for the title.
“Bad first half” by FC Bayern
“We had a bad first half,” said Trinchieri on “MagentaSport”: “We tried to fight back, but we couldn’t.” The Italian hasn’t completely written off his team yet. “Never give up, never,” he said.
Even Berlin’s Oscar da Silva does not see the series decided yet. “That was just a stage win,” said the German-Brazilian, who is hoping for the championship title in his own arena: “We want to treat our home crowd to it.”
After the opening win on Friday, when the Berliners had decided the duel with a furious run in the final quarter, the defending champion started confidently. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s team immediately took the lead – and didn’t give it up until the end.
Clear conditions before the eyes of Uli Hoeneß and Co.
With a strong final spurt in the second quarter, Alba pulled away with twelve points for the first time. Time and time again, Lo and Co. found gaps in Munich’s defensive structure through quick combinations, which clearly showed the high strain of the past few weeks with the current playing time.
The main round winner from Berlin made short work of it before the eyes of Bavaria’s Honorary President Uli Hoeneß.
Nothing burned in the last quarter, and game two in the fourth final duel between the two flagship clubs after 2018, 2019 and 2021 went to the champions of the last two years.