Euroleague bottom club Alba Berlin has also lost its next game. It suffered its 24th defeat in 29 games against AS Monaco. And it didn’t look like it at first
The basketball players of Alba Berlin missed a surprise in the Euroleague and suffered their sixth defeat in a row. The Bundesliga club lost 82:90 (39:45) at home to French champions AS Monaco in front of 7422 spectators on Thursday evening. Alba thus remains bottom of the table with no play-off chances. Berlin’s best scorers were Matt Thomas with 14 and Johannes Thiemann with eleven points
Coach Israel Gonzalez was again without the injured trio of Matteo Spagnolo, Gabriele Procida and Justin Bean. Playmaker Martin Hermannsson was also absent due to the birth of his second child. Instead, world champion Thiemann returned
27:13 lead goes unused
The hosts nevertheless got off to a surprisingly good start against the team coached by ex-Berliner Sasa Obradovic. They worked very attentively in defense and were efficient in offense. The fourth-placed Monaco team seemed surprised and Alba was 27:13 ahead after the first quarter. However, the visitors defended more intensively in the second period and the German club hardly managed anything in offense. They lost the quarter by 12:32 and Alba was now trailing
After the break, Monaco was able to pull further ahead because Alba conceded too many turnovers. The deficit grew to eleven points (53:64). However, the home side fought its way back to within one point in the final quarter (72:73). However, Monegasque struck back immediately with a 7:0 run. Alba was no longer able to counter that.
At the top of the table, Olympiakos Piraeus won the neighboring and prestigious duel with Panathinaikos Athens 71:65 and drew level with their rivals (both 18-11). Both clubs, like Monaco (19-10), are in the coveted top six, with leaders Real Madrid (22-6) and FC Bayern (12-16, home to Kaunas, 11-17) playing on Friday. The Whites will play at Virtus Bologna (17-11).
Match statistics
Alba Berlin – AS Monaco 82:90 (39:45)
Best scorers: Thomas (14 points), Thiemann (11), Brown (10), Wetzell (10), Koumadje (10) for Berlin – Okobo (21), James (20), Blossomgame (13) for Monaco. – Spectators: 7422
