Saturday June 12th 2021
One injured person after another
Alba fights FC Bayern down to match point
The final series of the BBL remains a thriller. Alba Berlin surprises FC Bayern and regains home advantage in game three. However, the capital city can prevent the basketball Bundesliga from traveling to Berlin again tomorrow.
The basketball players from Alba Berlin fought back their advantage in another exciting playoff final against FC Bayern Munich and are only one victory away from another championship title. The team of coach Aito Garcia Reneses won in Munich with 81:69 (37:37) – in the best-of-five series it is 2: 1 for the capital city. “Alba was better, they deserved to win,” said Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri at MagentaSport.
Alba can defend his title perfectly in game four on Sunday (3 p.m.). Bayern, on the other hand, absolutely need the home win to force an all-important fifth game on Tuesday in Berlin. “Let’s see who can play,” said Trinchieri in view of the strain and injuries before his team’s 90th game of the season.
Berlin national player Maodo Lô does not see his team at the goal for a long time. “I hope we can be champions, but winning this game will be incredibly tough,” he said at MagentaSport. “Munich has always managed to do miracles and played a season that was extremely important for German basketball. You have to trust this team for everything,” said the Berliner.
In an extremely competitive match, Marcus Eriksson and Luke Sikma were the most successful throwers for the Berlin team with 13 points each, who famously made up a nine-point deficit in the third quarter. The injury-plagued Bavarians 23 points from DJ Seeley were not enough for the victory.
Lucic injures himself early
After the opening double in Berlin, Bayern wanted to use their momentum and the often invoked momentum in their own hall in front of the home fans. For the first time in 465 days, spectators were once again allowed to enter the Audi Dome; after months of ghost games, the 1,300 fans provided an acoustically appealing setting.
Munich’s managing director Marko Pesic wanted the “necessary push” from the ranks – but his team completely screwed up the start and was 9-0 down. Only Leon Radosevic with a free throw brought the hosts on the scoreboard. The experienced center had missed the first match in Berlin with an ankle injury and is now making his comeback to the final. He almost became a tragic figure afterwards, when Munich’s guarantor of success, Vladimir Lucic, got on Radosevic’s foot and twisted his ankle. After a treatment break, Lucic returned to the field to the cheers of the fans.
The favorite fought their way back into the game without the further injured national player Paul Zipser, from the second quarter on the game was fiercely contested. Lucic, who was otherwise so strong in crucial phases, fell off noticeably this time and looked battered. Alba initially suffered from the fact that the otherwise dangerous sniper Marcus Eriksson rejected a lot from the three-point line and Simone Fontecchio was burdened with fouls early on.
The stubborn Berliners could not be shaken off and not worn down by a run by Bayern in the third quarter and a nine-point deficit in the meantime – on the contrary: A successful three-point with the final siren of the third section brought Alba with 59:56 in the lead. And in the end, the previous year’s champion then had significantly more energy than the Bavarians, who no longer hit their litters and could no longer stop the guests.
.