Alba Berlin has preserved the chance to sniff again at the top 8 of the Euroleague with a home victory on Friday evening against Red Star Belgrade.
Alba Berlin has celebrated another success in the Euroleague after two recent defeats. On Friday evening, the Bundesliga club defeated Roter Stern Belgrade 74:70 (37:35) in front of 5135 spectators. Alba, who are fifth in the table, thus at least kept their theoretical chance of a play-off place alive. Best Berlin scorers were Maodo Lo with 22 points and Jaleen Smith with 17 points.
For Alba, national player Johannes Thiemann was back, but did not play. Tamir Blatt was absent due to illness. The Berliners initially had problems finding their offensive rhythm. But thanks to good defensive work, the hosts found their way into the game better and better in the middle of the first quarter. With a 10:1 run, Alba was able to pull away to 24:15.
In the second period, Red Star defended more intensively. Alba was unlucky with some controversial referee decisions. The lead shrank to two points by the break because too many throws were missed. Especially under the basket, there were problems when the 2.21 metre tall Christ Koumadje was not on the court.
The game remained hard-fought after the change of ends. Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than four points. Both teams were dominated by their defensive lines. Alba, however, gained more points in the final period. The decision was made 22 seconds before the end when Luke Sikma converted two free throws for 74:70.
