Away in Bologna, Monaco, Ulm: Tough week for Alba

Berlin (dpa/bb). The new week will again be an appointment hunt for Alba Berlin. The Berliners have to play three games in just five days – all of them away from home. “Double match days in the Euroleague are always difficult. Especially when we had four games the week before. It’s going to be really tough again,” said coach Israel Gonzalez.

On Wednesday, Alba will play Italian Euroleague newcomer Virtus Bologna (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport). “An opponent we can win against. We have a good chance after facing very strong opponents recently,” said winger Louis Olinde. And after nine defeats in a row in the premier class, the Berliners also urgently need a sense of achievement. “Of course we want to win as soon as possible because it would be very helpful for our morale,” said Gonzalez.

But Alba continues to be plagued by a wave of colds. Most recently, Center Yanni Wetzell was caught. “We have a lot of not really healthy players. We don’t know who’s next,” complained the Alba coach. National player Maodo Lo had recently caught a cold. “Somehow everything is suboptimal right now,” he said.

Because Lo has been back for a month after his injury break, but he is still plagued by problems and pain. “The body doesn’t feel a hundred percent yet. You don’t yet have the stability you need with certain movements that are very important for my style of play,” said the 29-year-old. By his own admission, Lo had started again too early. He’s still looking for his rhythm. “It still feels like I’ve just come back and the body still needs time,” he confessed.

And like Lo, several players in the squad are currently doing. The team status currently changes almost daily. Together with the high load, Alba lacks the dynamic in the interaction. “We have to find ourselves again and have to function again,” Lo demanded.