Alba only outsiders in Bayern duel
For the basketball team, the Bundesliga prestige duel on Sunday in the Max-Schmeling-Halle against long-time rivals FC Bayern Munich (5 p.m./Dyn) comes at the worst possible time. "It will be a tough task. And not an ideal schedule. But we have to be a tick more confident again," said world champion Johannes Thiemann. The 81:102 defeat at Maccabi Tel Aviv on Thursday evening was Berlin's sixth defeat in a row.
Until two weeks ago, things were still going well, at least in the Bundesliga. "We had just found our feet a bit in this constellation and got going," said Thiemann. But then came the injuries to Matt Thomas, Sterling Brown and Louis Olinde. "Those are three of our key players and it completely changed the game," said the Alba captain.
Thiemann (29) also sees that as the reason for the current contrasting development of the two Bundesliga rivals. Bayern had problems at the start of the season, but have played more consistently of late. "They had a lot of players out injured, it's the same for us now," said Thiemann. Bayern have won their last four games and can now draw on a full squad. "They have three players for every position, a lot of quality and a lot of physical strength," said Alba coach Israel Gonzalez.
Most recently, it was usually only world champion Thiemann in the Berlin team who was the only reliable and consistent option in offense. But that alone will probably not be enough against Bayern. "I'll try my best to help the team and take responsibility. But of course we have to try and find all the ways we can to help the team," said the 29-year-old.
Despite Alba Berlin's current struggling performance with six consecutive losses, their Bundesliga duel against FC Bayern Munich on Sunday remains a significant challenge. In the Bundesliga, ALBA Berlin's rivals, FC Bayern Munich, have shown a consistent improvement, having won their last four games and leveraging a full squad.
Source: www.dpa.com
