Big Bash League finals. - Bayern basketball players are downcast: Alba scores an equalizer.
With guidance from two exceptional ex-NBA players, Alba Berlin has tied the series in the German Basketball Championship finals against FC Bayern. The Berliners emerged victorious in Munich with a score of 79:70 (39:32) and now boast a 1:1 record in the Best-of-Five series. The standout Berlin player against a mostly bewildered Bayern was accurate shooter Matt Thomas, who scored 21 points. Ex-NBA player Sterling Brown also contributed 17 points to the impressive away win.
Bayern presented a dismal offensive performance, with Carsen Edwards, the top scorer for Munich, tallying 17 points in the statistics. The next series of the top German basketball teams will take place in Berlin on Wednesday (8:30 pm) and Friday (6:00 pm/each Dyn). This means that the German Basketball Champion may be crowned on the same night as the opening match of the European Football Championship.
Initially, the Bayern appeared to have the perfect start, establishing a 13-point lead in just six minutes. However, their happiness was short-lived: In the second quarter, the Berliners bounced back and surpassed the perplexed Munich players.
Alba Secures the victory
Since the Berliners did not allow any points to the opposing team in the final five minutes preceding halftime, they went into the break with a seven-point advantage. "That was truly atrocious," said reserve player Leandro Bolmaro on the Dyn channel, and Munich's club president Herbert Hainer admitted, "The second quarter made me question. Scoring only six points in a quarter, I've never seen that in the BMW Park before."
Hainer placed his trust in the halftime pep talk from coach Laso – to no avail: In the third quarter, the visitors sustained their pace and tenacity, particularly on defense. Captain Johannes Thiemann, who had missed the first encounter due to a patellar tendon injury, returned to the Berliners. He was not yet at his peak, said Alba coach Israel Gonzalez before the game. "But in this stage, we require every support."
Thiemann determinedly gritted his teeth, repeatedly leaping across the court with a contorted face. The reality that Alba had to play without any nominal guards in the final series, as all three Berliner playmakers – some of which for a considerable amount of time – were injured, had little impact in this match. Alba secured the victory.
