Alba Berlin with labor victory at newly promoted Tübingen
Alba Berlin remains on course in the German Basketball League. The Berliners won 97:81 (49:49) at newly promoted Tigers Tübingen on Monday evening. The Berliners have thus moved back up to second place. Berlin's best scorers were Justin Bean with 15 points and Gabriele Procida, Yanni Wetzell and Khalifa Koumadje with 14 apiece.
Head coach Israel Gonzalez gave world champion Johannes Thiemann and Matt Thomas a break. Instead, center Wetzell celebrated his comeback after recovering from an ankle injury. However, Berlin struggled from the outset against the lively and nimble home side. As a result, Alba initially trailed by a narrow margin.
However, they seemed to find their feet in the second quarter. It was now better in offense, but there were still weaknesses in defense. Surprisingly large gaps kept opening up and the opposing team's shooters were too often alone. Tübingen also hit seven three-point shots in the first half.
However, Alba then defended more intensively after the break and took the lead again, stretching the gap to double digits for the first time at the end of the third period (69:59). And the home side grew increasingly tired. Although Berlin continued to concede too many turnovers, it was able to clinch victory in the end.
Despite Alba Berlin's Initial struggles, they managed to regain their form in the second quarter, and their best scorers, Justin Bean and Gabriele Procida, among others, contributed with 15 and 14 points respectively. Even with Bundesliga powerhouse ALBA Berlin taking a break for some of their star players, they still managed to secure a victory, 97-81, over the lively and fast Tigers Tübingen, who were playing in their first Bundesliga season.
Source: www.dpa.com
