The basketball players from Alba Berlin celebrated their first victory in the Euroleague. The Bundesliga team won on Tuesday evening in the home arena in front of 7,044 spectators against the French representative Asvel Villeurbanne with 84:79 (36:36). Alba had previously suffered two defeats. The best Berlin throwers were Martin Hermannsson with 21 and Matteo Spagnolo with 16 points.
The game started disjointed. Both teams struggled to find their rhythm – especially the hosts. Due to problems with timekeeping, the game was interrupted for almost ten minutes right at the start. But that seemed to have done Alba good. The Berliners then acted much more focused and took the lead back after a 10-0 run (14:9).
Alba misses too many easy throws
But in the second quarter the Berliners found it more difficult to attack. Too many easy throws were missed under the basket and out of eleven attempts from distance only two found their way into the basket. So the home team fell behind again. A 5-0 run shortly before half-time saved a draw at halftime.
Even after the break there was another long break due to technical problems. And again Alba seemed to be able to cope with this better. After an 18:7 run, the hosts even took a double-digit lead for the first time at the end of the third quarter (64:54). Things got tight again in the final phase, but the Berliners managed to keep their narrow lead across the finish line.
