Status: 02.01.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes
Alba’s Johannes Thiemann holds the ball ready for the free throw.
Source: Andreas Gora/dpa/archive image
The Alba Berlin basketball players narrowly missed their fourth victory in the Euroleague. In a hard-fought game on Tuesday, the Bundesliga team only lost 71:77 (41:48) to Lithuanian series champions Zalgiris Kaunas in the final phase. Alba remains second to last in the table after the 15th defeat in the 18th game of the premier class. The best Berlin throwers were world champion Johannes Thiemann with 17 and Matteo Spagnolo with 15 points.
Coach Israel Gonzalez once again had to do without the trio Louis Olinde, Gabriele Procida and Ziga Samar. However, like on Sunday against Chemnitz, his team started very well offensively. Kaunas lost the ball a few times, which punished the Berliners. Shortly before the end of the first quarter, the guests were 25:20 ahead.
But in the second section the thread broke. The ball losses and missed throws increased. The Berliners only managed two points for around six minutes. Zalgiris, on the other hand, got going better and now also hit his long-range throws. In the middle of the quarter, Berlin’s deficit was in double digits for the first time (27:37).
After the break, Alba was there again and came within one point (49:50). The guests missed too many free throws in this phase, but they were on equal terms. Four minutes before the end, the Berliners even took the lead again (69:68). But in the hectic final phase they showed nerves, fell behind again by 31 seconds (71:74) and were no longer able to counter it.
2024-01-02 20:44:42
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