ALBA BERLIN (20-2) stays on the heels of Telekom Baskets Bonn. In a catch-up game, the German champions won 87:77 at SYNTAINICS MBC (9-14).
Gameplay and turning point: Driven on by Kostja Mushidi, who scored ten points in the first quarter, MBC started the game well, and it was level until half-time. Balanced enough to overturn Berlin’s plans to rest Jaleen Smith. So the guard came into play and with it momentum in the performance of the guests. ALBA seemed to get the match under control midway through the third quarter. Charles Callison had other plans. With ten points in this part of the game, the American brought the Weißenfels team back up to 57:59. This tension, this drama – it was too much for MBC coach Igor Jovović. The Montenegrin was thrown out of the hall with two technical fouls, his assistant Djordje Pantelić took over but was unable to pull off the surprise. Instead: the Maodo Lo show. More on that later.
Duel in focus: Tremmell Darden and Luke Sikma played each other in the Spanish league nine years ago. Now aged 41 and 33, the BBL legends may have aged, but their game is timeless. Darden won the direct duel with six points, but Sikma (4 points, 7 rebounds) had the statistics on his side, which has always been the most important thing for both rivals: the ones on the scoreboard.
Please pay: The good three-way quota of 41.7 percent could have made a lot of things possible for the people of Saxony-Anhalt … if they hadn’t picked up eleven rebounds (29:40) fewer than the big favorite.
Milestones: It certainly wasn’t the best game of Sikma’s BBL career, but another one to climb the leaderboards. The American’s seven rebounds allowed him to break the 900 mark, and he is now at 905. In addition, the forward overtook Danilo Barthel (902) in 17th place on the digital leaderboard with the seven rebounds collected at the defensive end.
Player of the match: What hadn’t been said about Lo? Not fit enough, injured too many times, lost a step. “Tired legs,” which he said himself after the game. Nonsense. The bronze medalist at the European Championships did not hesitate and then burned the MBC. The point guard excelled with 25 points in just 24 minutes. Not such a steep thesis: without him it would have been tight for the capital city.
Award contenders: Berlin’s Malte Delow is the front runner in the race for the award for the best German youngster. In Weißenfels, however, he was only able to pull away slightly from his competitors. He can do more than his four points.
The Germans: Martin Breunig (13 points, 8 rebounds) and Kostja Mushidi (13 points, 7 assists) made a formidable one-two punch for MBC. Not enough against the local power of the Berliners, who, in addition to Lo, also convinced Jonas Mattisseck (10 points) and Tim Schneider (7 points, 7 rebounds).
On the edge of the gang: Suspended EM hero Johannes Thiemann on the guest side due to knee problems.
What’s next: It won’t get any easier for East Germans. They play at FC Bayern Munich on Sunday (3 p.m.) – and thus against the same opponents who welcome ALBA to the German EuroLeague duel on Friday (8.30 p.m.).
Video: Highlights of this game can be found here in the top right under “Video” or here at MagentaSport.
