Basketball Euroleague: Alba Berlin loses to Fenerbahce Istanbul

As of: December 22, 2023 10:48 p.m

The basketball players from Alba Berlin suffered a home defeat against Fenerbahce in the Euroleague three days after the coup against FC Barcelona.

The basketball players from Alba Berlin suffered a home defeat in the Euroleague three days after the coup against FC Barcelona. The Berliners lost to the top Turkish club Fenerbahce Istanbul 82:91 (47:51) on Friday evening in their home arena at the Ostbahnhof in front of 13,000 spectators.

Alba remains second to bottom in the premier class. The best Berlin throwers were Sterling Brown with 15 and Matt Thomas with 13 points.

Alba set the tone in the first round

Alba Berlin achieved a high hit rate of more than 60 percent in the first half, coupled with aggressive defense. The home team took a 9-point lead at the start of the second quarter. The guests from Istanbul initially seemed unsettled and allowed the ball to be stolen time and time again: the Berliners forced the guests into nine turnovers in the first half.

Before the break, the Berliners failed to take an even bigger lead, especially because Johannes Thiemann and Khalifa Koumadje couldn’t get any real access under the opposing basket.

Led by center Georgios Papagiannis, the guests managed to hang on. The Turks rained down numerous successful three-point throws on the Berlin defense, so that the guests even went into the break with a 51:47 lead, cheered on by numerous Turkish fans.

Istanbul too strong in the second half

At the beginning of the third quarter, coach Israel Gonzalez’s team had little to counter the guests, who were increasingly dominant in the zone. The key players in this phase were the Istanbul big men Johnathan Motley and Papagiannis. Alba lost the game 12:21.

The Berliners were able to keep the final section of the game evenly balanced, but were no longer really a threat to the favorites from Turkey.

Broadcast: rbb24, December 22nd, 2023, 10 p.m