The Berliners won at home in front of 9,135 spectators against pursuers EWE Baskets Oldenburg with 89:81 (53:42). It was the eleventh Bundesliga win in a row for the defending champions. The best Berlin throwers were Jaleen Smith with 19 and Louis Olinde with twelve points.
Berlin the whole game in the lead
Both teams were highly concentrated from the start. The three-point throws fell on both sides. The Berliners, who were missing captain Luke Sikma (muscular problems), Gabriele Procida and Maodo Lo (both ill), increasingly took over the initiative after being 2:5 behind and after a good seven minutes they were 26:13 ahead.
In the second quarter, Oldenburg got into the game better and managed to get to the basket again and again. The Berlin defensive revealed gaps again and again. The hosts countered with a lot of speed, but the throws were no longer as natural as in the first section. Alba couldn’t get any further away.
Even after the change of sides, the game was more balanced. The Berlin advantage melted down to five points (53:48) and coach Israel Gonzalez immediately called the time-out. That helped, Alba was then able to increase the lead again a little. In the final phase, however, things got tight again. The decision was only made 45 seconds before the end when Johannes Thiemann dunked to make it 87:80.
