Coach Trinchieri leaves Halle
FC Bayern loses dress rehearsal for championship fight
05/11/2022 02:47 am
With eleven wins in a row, Alba Berlin is in the playoffs of the basketball Bundesliga. At the end of the regular season, the defending champion shows FC Bayern the limits once again. A reunion is possible in the final at the earliest.
Three days before the start of the playoffs, champion Alba Berlin set an example in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) with a win over long-time rival Bayern Munich. The winner of the main round won the exciting dress rehearsal 83:78 (41:34), the prestige duel no longer had an impact on the standings, both teams did not work with the final consequences.
“We’ve always managed to come back after a Bayern run. We didn’t let ourselves be irritated and continued to play our game,” said Alba professional Louis Olinde at MagentaSport: “Of course it’s good, with a win here in Munich in the To go to the playoffs. We want to be German champions.” The Berliners will meet former series champion Brose Bamberg (8th) in their first quarter-final game on Friday (7 p.m. / MagentaSport). FC Bayern, third, will only find out on Wednesday evening whether the first round will go against the MHP giants Ludwigsburg or the Niners Chemnitz.
The Munich team had to make do without their head coach Andrea Trinchieri, who was in poor health and left the hall before the start of the game. Assistant Slaven Rimac took over and saw a false start. It quickly became 0:10, and it took more than five minutes for the hosts to score their first basket. Things went better for Bayern with the second guard around Nihad Djedovic, with an 8-0 run they reduced the lead to 16:20 at the break. The hosts took this momentum into the second round, but the guests went into the dressing room with a 41:34 lead.
Lots of lead changes in the second half
National player Andreas Obst (15 points) played well in the third round, with three threes he put Bayern in the lead. But again the guests struck back at the end of the game. The game picked up speed there, and the lead changed eleven times. In the last three minutes, Bayern didn’t score from the field, Jaleen Smith advanced to the Berlin match winner with 24 points and the 79:78 lead.
Cup winner Alba had almost a week’s break before the catch-up game and seemed fresher in the decisive phases. Yovel Zoosman sealed the victory of the Berlin seconds before the end at the free-throw line. The defending champion is unbeaten in eleven games.
In the playoffs, three wins are required in each round to advance. By winning the main round, Alba always has a home advantage, even in a possible final series. In the previous year, the Berliners had prevailed in a duel for the title 3-1 against Munich. A clash in the final is also possible this season.