Alba Berlin are facing two Euroleague games against Russian clubs this week: The first game was at home against Unics Kasan, who have managed to surprise in the current season – but went down without a fight in Berlin.
After four defeats in a row in the top division, the Bundesliga basketball team won 81:53 (36:26) at home against the Russian top team Unics Kasan on Wednesday. It was Alba’s seventh win in 22 games. The best Berlin scorers in front of 1600 spectators were Maodo Lo with 16 and Jaleen Smith with 14 points.
The German champions were still missing top scorer Marcus Eriksson due to a foot injury. From the beginning, an intense game developed in which both defensive lines dominated. Alba needed almost three and a half minutes before captain Luke Sikma scored the first points for his team.
However, Kasan did not do any better and missed many throws. In the first half, the play-off contenders did not manage a single distance throw – on eleven attempts. However, the Berliners also had a hard time finding good throwing positions against the very agile Russian defence. But they scored more often and that was enough to lead by eleven points (28:17) at times.
After the change of ends, the Berliners could even improve defensively and stopped the attacks of the guests again and again. In the third quarter, Kasan only managed nine points and Alba was able to pull away to 23 points at times (53:30). That was the preliminary decision, because the Berliners did not let this lead be taken away from them until the end.
Ulm loses in the Eurocup
Ulm lost at the Italian club Reyer Venice with 79:89 (44:42) and is nevertheless on course for the last 16 with a record of 6:6 victories in Group B. The best eight teams of both groups will reach the knockout round after the preliminary round. The Ulm team started weakly and was 14 points behind after ten minutes. In the second round, however, the guests showed a clear improvement. Led by the US duo Semaj Christon and Jaron Blossomgame, the German club turned the game around by the break and went into the dressing room with a 44:42 lead. As in the first quarter, Ulm did not present themselves in a good state after the change of sides. The result after 30 minutes: 67:58 for Venice. Coach Jaka Lakovic’s team could not make up this deficit. The Ulm team’s most successful scorer was Sindarius Thornwell with 21 points.
Europe Cup: Crailsheim can hope for quarter-final
The Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, meanwhile, can continue to hope for a place in the quarter-finals of the Europe Cup. The Bundesliga club won 79-69 (48-36) at the Antwerp Giants from Belgium on Wednesday and is in third place in Group J with a record of 2-2 victories. The first two teams qualify for the knockout round. The best scorer of the German team was TJ Shorts with 23 points. Coach Sebastian Gleim’s team dominated the match at the latest after the strong second quarter (31:21). Again and again, the guests managed to quickly end good phases of the Belgians. The Crailsheim team therefore did not relinquish their lead after the change of ends and won their second victory in the second group phase of the Europe Cup.
