Six league wins in a row, record after record, unbeaten since the end of November – things couldn’t be going better at Alba Berlin. At least for the basketball players in the DBBL, who won 69:59 in Halle on Sunday and remain close on the heels of champions Keltern. Their male colleagues can only dream of such exhilaration, as Alba’s BBL team is currently experiencing its most difficult phase in seven years.
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On Sunday, the Berliners lost 79:99 in Bamberg and suffered their fourth defeat in their twelfth game. In the Euroleague, the team is bottom of the table with a record of 3:16. Worse than the statistics, however, is the feeling that Alba has lost its identity.
Julian Graeber has been writing about Alba since 2017 and, after many successful years, is now reporting for the first time about a longer period of weakness for the club.
After the Spanish coaching legend Aito Garcia Reneses kissed the Berliners awake in the summer of 2017 after mixed years, “Alba Basketball” developed into a real brand. Talented players came and went, but the playing philosophy remained. The Berliners played quickly, creatively, with energy, esprit – and success.
Nationally, Alba reached ten finals in a row and won five titles. Internationally, the team made it to the final of the Eurocup in 2019 and then improved year after year in the Euroleague, despite a comparatively measly budget.
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This high phase delighted and spoiled the club, the fans and all observers. For years it seemed as if enthusiastic basketball and regular success were the norm. Even after Reneses left, the transition to his former assistant Israel Gonzalez went impressively smoothly.
But there was already a clear downward trend last season. Although Alba won more games in the BBL main round than ever before, the ease was increasingly rare. In the play-offs, the Berliners failed without a hitch against eventual champions Ulm.
This season this development will become even clearer. Of course there are enough possible explanations for Berlin’s difficulties. Formative characters Maodo Lo, Luke Sikma and Jaleen Smith have said goodbye. They were replaced by highly gifted but completely inexperienced talents at this level. The combination of league, cup and Euroleague creates a schedule that is actually unacceptable from a health perspective.
What is really worrying about the current situation is not even the defeats, but rather the feeling that there is no real improvement in sight and that the golden years are over. Alba is stuck in transition. A return of Martin Hermannsson would certainly help, but an experienced point guard and a new center wouldn’t be a miracle cure either. And there is a risk of further departures in the summer, particularly of captain Johannes Thiemann.
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With a little distance you can already see that the past few years have been even more special than they felt live. The fact that top international players like Lo and Sikma spent their best years in Berlin will remain an absolute exception. Alba has to come up with something – but at least creativity has been one of the Berliners’ strengths in recent years, and not just on the pitch.
2024-01-08 11:12:13
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