Both Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich suffered defeats in the Euroleague on Thursday evening. While the capital city team lost in Serbia, Munich was beaten by the reigning defending champions
The basketball players from Alba Berlin remain bottom of the Euroleague. The German club lost 71:85 (42:51) at Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade on Thursday evening. It was Alba’s twelfth defeat in its 14th game in the top flight. Berlin’s best scorers were Louis Olinde with 13 points and world champion Johannes Thiemann with twelve.
The Bundesliga side initially got off to a good start. The game was evenly poised, but both teams did not always play with full energy in defense. There were a few gaps. Alba increasingly had problems under the basket in particular. By the end of the first quarter, Red Star was able to exploit that better and pull away slightly
Berlin never really gets close
At the start of the second period, the deficit had grown to nine points (22:31). The visitors then came back, but had to let the home side pull away again in Belgrade’s cauldron towards the end of the first half.
Right after the break, Alba’s deficit had grown to 17 points (42:59). The visitors now missed too many shots and no longer found the right solutions in defense
Special game for Pablo Laso
The defending Euroleague champions were too strong for FC Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga basketball club clearly lost 73:88 (37:42) at Real Madrid on Thursday evening. With six wins and eight defeats, Munich remain in mid-table in the top flight. The best Bayern scorer in Madrid was world champion Isaac Bonga with 15 points.
There were ovations for Bayern coach Pablo Laso even before the game. The Spaniard coached the capital club from 2011 to 2022 and won the Spanish championship six times with Real as well as the Euroleague in 2015 and 2018. The minutes of applause on his first return to Madrid even brought a few tears to the 56-year-old’s eyes.
Bayern temporarily in front
On the pitch, his players were not accurate enough. Bonga only scored his first points after just under four minutes. Munich were then in the game and, even without Andreas Obst, were 23:19 ahead (10th minute) after scoring from distance. The title contenders from Madrid turned the game around by the break (37:42/20th minute).
As at the start, Munich got off to a poor start in the third quarter. Real extended its lead to twelve points (45:57/26). However, Bayern fought its way back and went into the final period trailing by six points (57:63/30). The fourth quarter showed just how strong the commanding Euroleague leaders are. Real quickly pulled away (59:77/36) and decided the game in its favor
Red Star Belgrade – Alba Berlin 85:71 (51:42)
Best scorers for Belgrade: Nedovic (20 points), Giedraitis (19), Teodosic (12), Davidovac (10)
Best scorers for Berlin: Olinde (13), Thiemann (12)
Spectators: 17,993
Real Madrid – Bayern Munich 88:73 (42:37)
Best scorers for Madrid: Llull (16 points), Campazzo (13), Hezonja (12), Poirier (11), Rodriguez (11)
Best scorers for Munich: Bonga (15), Booker (14), Edwards (11), Francisco (11)
Spectators: 8417
