Last in the Euroleague. First in the league. After an international home debacle, Alba Berlin needs positive experiences before the first national highlight of the season.
Some worry lines are likely to have arisen among those responsible at Alba Berlin. A week and a half before the first highlight of the season with the Cup Final Four, the capital club did not make a good impression in the 60:93 home debacle against Euroleague leaders Olympiacos Piraeus. At the moment we are not where we were this season, manager Marco Baldi said on Wednesday evening.
Before the cup semifinals against FC Bayern Munich, Alba has two more chances to experience positive things in the Bundesliga. On Saturday, the Berliners will initially receive the EWE Baskets Oldenburg at home (6 p.m. / Magentasport). But Baldi warns about the opponents: They play very well, play very aggressively and they will be well prepared and fresher. We will have great resistance.
At least Alba goes back into the game as the leader of the table. In the Euroleague, the Berliners ended up in last place after six defeats in a row. Almost confusing. One day you’re last and three days later you’re first again. It’s a bit like a roller coaster, said Captain Luke Sikma. At least for him the memory of the Piraeus bankruptcy can be shortened faster.
Alba was hopelessly inferior to the Greeks. We are not there to be able to counter such a team at the moment. You have to have a conviction, we don’t have that at the moment – at least in the Euroleague, said Baldi.
That’s why the 60-year-old calls for more team unity again. If sometimes we see, oh god, the game goes away. Then we get off and lose each other. And then it becomes like an anthill, he said. That’s why the team has to get things done with maximum concentration and intensity. Otherwise you’ll dig yourself deeper into the hole. The ridge is very narrow now, said Baldi.
