Narrow victory at Alba Berlin
Bavaria’s basketball players are close to the double
12.06.2024, 22:46
The basketball players of Bayern Munich have taken a big step towards the title. However, they have to work hard again to win their second game, and a thrilling final phase decides the cup winners’ favor.
Cup winner Bayern Munich has secured two match points in the final series for the championship of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). The favored Munich team won their first away game of the best-of-five series at Alba Berlin on Wednesday evening with 67:63 (31:28) and are now leading 2:1. With another win on Friday (6 p.m./Dyn), the team of the successful Spanish coach Pablo Laso would complete the double.
If the second away game on Friday is lost, the decision will be made on Sunday (5 p.m./Dyn) in game five in Munich. World champion Andreas Obst was the guests’ best scorer on Wednesday with 14 points. National player Nick Weiler-Babb also impressed with a strong defensive performance, nine points and six assists. Matt Thomas (17) collected the most points for Berlin.
Exciting final phase
After Alba won the second duel on Monday and thus deprived Bayern of the home advantage, Laso reacted and caused problems for Berlin at the start of game three with a changed defensive formation. In a first quarter characterized by tough but fair defense, the Munich team also initially failed to get going offensively.
At the beginning of the second period, the visitors managed to pull ahead for the first time, reaching a nine-point lead, but this lead was lost just as quickly, meaning that the teams went into halftime on a par. And at the beginning of the second half, none of the defensive lines let up and the game remained close. The lead changed hands six times in the third quarter.
With a 13-0 run in the last quarter, the guests seemed to have made the decision, but the Berliners responded with ten points in a row. But Berlin was unable to respond to Munich’s four-point lead in a thrilling final phase.