Alba Berlin loses basement duel against Villeurbanne
Alba Berlin's basketball team has lost the basement duel in the Euroleague and slipped to the bottom of the table. On Wednesday evening, the Bundesliga club lost 68:73 (35:43) at home to the French top team Asvel Villeurbanne in front of 6561 spectators. It was Alba's seventh defeat in its eighth game in the top flight. World champion Johannes Thiemann was Berlin's best scorer with 16 points.
Berlin missed the start. Villeurbanne was more alert, quicker and, above all, more accurate. The home side conceded turnovers and made a lot of free throws. However, they lacked intensity in defense in particular. Alba trailed by 8:23 in the first quarter.
The arrival of Gabriele Procida in the second period finally injected more emotion into Berlin's play. The Italian shook his team awake with a block, a dunk, a three and a steal in succession. Alba closed the gap to two points again shortly before the break (35:37).
The home side then even took the lead for the first time with a 12:0 run right after the break. They pulled seven points ahead (55:48). However, the thread then snapped again. Villeurbanne pulled ten points ahead again in the final quarter (67:57). However, Alba fought back and closed the gap to one point (68:69) with 93 seconds remaining. However, the Berlin club squandered a potential chance to win in the final period.
Despite the valiant effort from World champion Johannes Thiemann, scoring 16 points for Alba Berlin, their basketball team suffered a 73-68 loss against Asvel Villeurbanne in the Euroleague. This defeat, their seventh in eight games, left them at the bottom of the table. Despite Gabriele Procida's injection of energy in the second quarter, Alba Berlin failed to secure a win against their French opponents in this crucial basement duel.
Source: www.dpa.com
