The Euroleague is still not a good place for Alba Berlin this season. On Friday, it suffered its sixth defeat in its seventh game against Panathinaikos Athens
Alba Berlin is simply not getting into its stride in the Euroleague and remains without a win this season. The team of world champion Johannes Thiemann lost 85:99 (47:60) to the Greek club Panathinaikos Athens in its own arena on the seventh matchday. Alba (1:6) is stuck deep in the basement of the table, while Bayern Munich (2:5) is hardly in a better position as the second Bundesliga representative.
“They have a very, very deep team. We didn’t manage to tire them out,” said Alba captain Thiemann on MagentaSport. The situation is “frustrating. We could have one or two more wins.” Teammate Yanni Wetzell was self-critical: “We lacked energy in the first half. We have to be there from the start. “
Berlin allowed the visitors to pull away by as many as 17 points in the Mercedes-Benz Arena after the break (55:72 in the 26th minute), but then made things tense again in the final spell. New signing Matt Thomas made it 78:84 in the 33rd minute and everything was possible again, but Panathinaikos stopped Berlin’s comeback.
Konstantinos Mitoglou (24 points) and the former Berlin player Marius Grigonis (16) were virtually unstoppable for the Greek club, while Alba had its best scorers in Sterling Brown (17) and Thiemann (16). Next Wednesday (8 p.m.), Berlin will host the French team Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne, which has also got off to a weak start.
Alba Berlin – Panathinaikos Athens 85:99 (47:60)
Best scorers for Berlin: Brown (17 points), Thiemann (16), Procida (13)
Best scorers for Athens: Mitoglou (24), Grigonis (16), Sloukas (14), Vildoza (13), Balcerowski (11)
Spectators: 13,000
