BG Göttingen has fond memories of the guest Alba Berlin

Smoothly works differently: First Alba Berlin had to be in corona quarantine, then there were injuries-related failures, and there is a full schedule due to the triple exposure with the BBL, Euroleague and BBL Cup. Nevertheless, last season’s double winner is in good shape. The BG Göttingen has shown that the capital city club is vulnerable in their home encounters in the past two seasons, when they sent the albatrosses home with defeats. Will it happen again on Tuesday? At 8.30 p.m. both teams meet in the Sparkassen-Arena.

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In the cup, the Berliners have reached the top four tournament and compete against the BG in the semi-finals. In the Bundesliga, the team of head coach Aito Garcia Reneses has only lost one game against the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and the (although negative) record in the Euroleague is also impressive in view of the circumstances with corona cases and injuries.

When the albatrosses come to Göttingen on Tuesday, they have played six games within twelve days – including three Euroleague games. This intense phase began with an away appearance in Spain, the four subsequent matches were all played in the local Mercedes-Benz Arena before the game with the Violets is now up. The Berliners have no good memories of their last appearance to date in Göttingen: they lost 71:72 in the sold-out Sparkassen-Arena. Dylan Osetkowski and Marvin Omuvwie were the match winners on January 5, 2020.

Luke Sikma continues to be the capital city’s key player in his fourth season, but with Jayson Granger there is now a second veteran who can also inspire his teammates. Hardly any other team in the league is as deeply occupied as Alba Berlin. There are seven foreigners under contract, the 21-year-old Croatian Kresimir Nikic is taking a break from important national games.

In the win against Vechta on Sunday afternoon Peyton Siva was absent due to an injury, it remains to be seen whether he will be able to play again against Göttingen. Even more important in Berlin is the depth of the German positions, where with Jonas Mattiseck and Tim Schneider quality is also available in positions eleven and twelve.

The German forward Louis Olinde – son of the Göttingen basketball legend Wilbert Olinde – has an average of around 23 minutes. “Your strength is switching from defense to attack. They cut and fit incredibly well. They have very good throwers, even in fifth position, for example in Johannes Thiemann, ”says BG assistant trainer Thomas Crab about the opponent. “We have to sprint back into defense and make every throw difficult.”

After a day off on Saturday, the Veilchen devoted themselves to video studies on Sunday in preparation for the Berlin game and then trained in the hall of the basketball center. From Monday, the Sparkassen-Arena was accessible again after some things had to be dismantled there due to the bombing.

BG head coach Roel Moors did not want to hear of satisfaction after the victory against the former employer. “I think this game was more special for Johan Roijakkers than for me. We needed a win and I have a good feeling, but we still have a lot of steps to take, ”said the Belgian, putting the brakes on the euphoria. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with his team and was most pleased about “40 minutes of consistency and the collective strong performance on defense and offense.”

Deishuan Booke did not surprise him. “He has the qualities, but has not yet shown them in Göttingen. He was too passive against Vechta. Now he had good odds and was aggressive. I don’t always expect 20 points from him, “says Moors, who hopes, however, that the American’s performance will” level off between Vechta and Bamberg “over the long term.

The BG head coach sees “many qualities” on the part of the Berlin team and assumes that it is difficult for the team to find the right rhythm between the Euroleague opponents and those like Vechta or Göttingen. Moors describes the transition on the offensive as “strong”, and the fact that the Berliners have players in all positions who can hit well from a distance. “It won’t be easy, they have the most assists per game in the league,” said Moors.