Maybe it has something to do with sleeping in your own bed, the surprise of the game day in the Basketball Euroleague: Alba Berlin, bottom of the table, defeated the glorious FC Barcelona, the runner-up and two-time winner of the competition, on Tuesday. Since the Berliners held third place in the Bundesliga with a hard-fought victory in Oldenburg, they have only had home games on their schedule for the time being – until January 2nd, when they are expected in Kaunas.
The professionals are unlikely to sleep in at home either. They have four home games to play within twelve days, the last of which is on New Year’s Eve. Fenerbahce is coming this Friday. On the 31 days from December 14th with the defeat at Red Star Belgrade to January 14th with the championship game against Würzburg, Alba has twelve games on the schedule.
Berlin was blessed with the luck of the brave
In the 74:70 win over Barcelona, Alba’s defense noticeably improved, and on offense it was sometimes taken over by Johannes Thiemann from the German World Cup team, sometimes by the young Italian Gabriele Procida, the New Zealand center Yanny Wetzell and the American newcomers Matt Thomas and Sterling Brown, to overcome the deficit of 13 points.
Procida aptly described the turbulent final minutes in front of more than 10,000 fascinated spectators when he said that his team had done everything to lose. It won because the FC Barcelona stars couldn’t take advantage of their many chances. Berlin was blessed with the luck of the brave.
The result and high spirits should not hide the fact that this was more a victory of will than ability. Alba Berlin has rarely been as much of an underdog as it is at the moment. Players who excel in the Bundesliga are mediocre at the highest European level. Berlin’s centers have been criticized in this regard. Trying to let highly talented but inexperienced development players lead the team through the season is risky.
Especially since the tight schedule not only puts a strain on the players physically and mentally, but also leaves little time for training. Whatever changes the team and coach make, they try them out in the game. It’s no wonder that commentators and experts have long been speculating that Alba Berlin will sign an experienced point guard this season – not only as a savior, but also as a teacher for the young guard.
Anno Hecker Published/Updated: Recommendations: 7 Jürgen Kalwa, New York Published/Updated: Recommendations: 5 Stefan Koch Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
However, the spectacular success was not a miracle. Not an argument, however. The learning curve for young players is steep, of course. But it is doubtful that this will carry the team up without any accidents. After all, when they overthrew the favorites, the Berliners appeared extremely well rested.
