Munich goes down in the BBL final
Alba counters Bayern’s beating with a hat-trick title
06/19/2022, 4:55 p.m
For the third time in a row, the name of the German basketball champion is Alba Berlin. The capital club shakes off the swatter of the third final game and quickly sets itself apart in the fourth meeting. FC Bayern can expect a restless summer break after a season without a title.
Berlin championship celebrations in Munich: Alba Berlin has made the third championship in a row perfect with a superior performance and put on the German basketball crown for the eleventh time. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s ripped-off team won the fourth playoff final game with a well-deserved score of 96:81 (52:36) at constant rival FC Bayern and won the best-of-five series 3-1.
Jaleen Smith (23 points) and international Johannes Thiemann (15) led the capital city in front of only 5469 spectators in the muggy and hot Munich Audi Dome to the third championship in a row – and for the third time the albatrosses celebrated in Munich. In the eyes of Bayern President Herbert Hainer, the guests benefited above all from their strong first half. The cup winner from Berlin made the sixth double in the club’s history perfect with the championship title. Bayern had their best pitcher in Augustine Rubit (15).
“We have to learn from the defeat and rediscover our identity in the game in Munich,” Gonzalez demanded after the violent 60:90 home slap on Friday – and his team seemed well recovered from the surprising bankruptcy from the start. Led by the strong Smith, the guests took an 11-0 lead after just three minutes. Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri took the first break early on – and his weakened team came into play better, but was constantly behind.
Bayern ends the season with four home defeats in a row
The Berliners always remained the more alert and efficient team, the exhausted Munich team struggled with their weak three-point quota in their 84th game of the season. The lead grew steadily until the middle of the second quarter, with the argument of the strained Bavarians fizzled to the effect that it was also Alba’s 81st game of the season. At half-time a small preliminary decision had already been made at 52:36. When the 2.24-meter giant Christ Koumadje scored three dunks in a row, Bayern looked broken.
During the break, Hainer addressed Bayern’s lack of support, the hosts had to do without top performers such as Vladimir Lucic and Corey Walden. Since October, Berlin has had to do without Marcus Eriksson, until then the team’s top scorer. The Munich team, who suffered their fourth home defeat in a row in the playoffs, tried everything again after half-time, but couldn’t come within striking distance of the hard-nosed Berliners. In the middle of the third quarter, the lead had grown to 24 points (64:40).
Bayern reduced the deficit again after a run in the final quarter (53:76), but the Berliners never really faltered. The last few minutes became a show for Alba, and the fans who had traveled with them from the capital began the championship celebrations early on. For the Munich team, on the other hand, a summer break begins, during which the club has to ask itself a few questions after a season without a title and a clear bankruptcy in this final series. Because the claim is not only significantly higher because of the fact that FC Bayern has the largest budget in Germany.