Newsletter

Alba Berlin is the worthy master

Von so-called “ghost games” to something like enthusiasm: Alba Berlin became superior German basketball champion on Sunday afternoon. In the 35th game of the three-week quarantine tournament in the Audi Dome in Munich, with which the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) was the first game sport after the Bundesliga to break the flag during the Corona crisis the MHP giants Ludwigsburg 75:74 (21:11, 21:24, 25:19, 8:20). A few minutes before the end, the Ludwigsburgers came twice to one point (71:72 and 74:75), but missed the chance of victory. In the last attack by the Berliners, the Swabians refrained from fouling their opponents and came up with another attack after free throws for Alba.

“Maybe in the end we were too relaxed,” said the Berlin Center Johannes Thiemann, who traveled with his team to Berlin that night by train. “We have shown character,” said Ludwigsburg Center Jonas Wohlfahrt-Bottermann (seven points): “Berliners are the measure of all this season.”

As if to reward the greatest success in the club’s history, Ludwigsburg coach John Patrick was able to award his players the medals for second place, including his sons Johannes and Jacob. The first leg on Friday evening was won by Berliners 88:65. It was the tenth game of the competition for both teams.

Ludwigsburg without the best man

The most successful players in the Berlin team of Spanish coach Aíto Reneses were Niels Giffey and Martin Hermannsson with 14 points each, Markus Eriksson with 13 and Landry Nnoko with 12 points. For Ludwigsburg winger Thomas Wimbush (19 points), the build-up player Jaleen Smith (15) and Nick Weiler-Babb (14) discovered in the second league best.

As in the first of the two finals, Ludwigsburg lacked the strongest player, the American Marcos Knight, whom the captains of all the teams involved chose as the most valuable player in the competition. His foot injury, which he dubbed for a long time and still averaged 18 points per game, did not allow him to play on Friday, in the first leg lost with 23 points, or on Sunday. “We want to win the championship,” Wimbush had tinted before the game and gave himself half hope in the second leg (35:42): “We play really hard. We want to win. “

Unstoppable: Ludwigsburg is also powerless against Alba with Center Johannes Thiemann.

Not only the game, but also the stress management of the Berliners was superior. Markus Eriksson is one of the longest stressed Alba players with an average of just over 20 minutes; at the Ludwigsburgers, Nick Weiler-Babb and Jaleen Smith started with well over thirty minutes on average.

First championship title after twelve years

“It could not have gone better,” said BBL managing director Stefan Holz about the course of the tournament: “No infection, no serious injury and great media attention.” There will be no such thing again, he announced: “We’ll be with.” Spectators will have to play and we won’t be able to wait long. We need Concept 2.0. ”Alba manager Marco Baldi said that the uncertainty is existential, as is the case with many companies.

Baldi contradicted the idea that his club had waited twelve years for the championship, spent a dozen seasons after finally winning the title again, as in the eight championships from 1997 to 2008. “In the thirtieth year of Alba Berlin’s existence, we reached the 34th final,” he said on Sunday: “The title is the salt in the soup, the confirmation for all who believe in it. It is the twentieth title in thirty years. But from a professional point of view, I find it much more impressive that, statistically, we have achieved more than one final each season. ”In the 2018/2019 season, Alba was still playing for the league, the cup and the Eurocup – and it required it a big heart to consider this a success when the team finally stood empty-handed. From this season, which was compromised by the Corona crisis, Alba emerged with the double of cup victory and championship. In addition, the club appears to be establishing itself in the Euro League.

Although the championship does not qualify for the most important competition in Europe this year, Champion Alba will be there for the next season. If you believe the rumors, Center Nnoko, construction player Hermannsson and winger Giedraitis will be wooed across Europe. Keeping it together under Coach Aíto becomes a challenge. “We want to continue to grow,” promises the Spanish sports director Albas, Himar Ojeda, “we want to continue to develop young players, play basketball that is fun, and do better in the EuroLeague.”

.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending