Alba Berlin achieved its 13th victory in a row in the Basketball Bundesliga. Coach Israel Gonzalez’s team prevailed on Wednesday evening in the home arena in Friedrichshain in front of 7,371 spectators with 91:74 (21:20, 21:20, 24:11, 25:23). In the table, Alba is now level with leaders Bayern Munich in second place with 23 wins from 28 games. The best throwers were Jonas Mattisseck (21), Tim Schneider (17) and Martin Hermannsson (14)
The Berliners, who have been plagued by injuries for weeks, had to do without eight professionals, and development player Ziga Samar was also missing at short notice with foot problems. Even with the three youth players Linus Ruf, Anton Nufer and Amon Dörries, Alba couldn’t fill the squad.
Nevertheless, the favorite started strong and was already leading by double digits after six minutes. The relegation-threatened Rostockers revealed big defensive gaps and allowed Alba’s guards to make layups that were far too easy.
This lack of attention decreased significantly after guest coach Christian Held took a break and a close game developed at a manageable level. This was due, on the one hand, to the Rostock team’s increased performance, but also to the Berliners, who lost their initial rhythm in an unfamiliar formation. The second quarter began with a private duel between Robin Amaize and Jonas Mattisseck. The Rostocker scored three goals from distance within 82 seconds, Alba’s guard achieved the same feat in just 64 seconds. A murmur went through the audience when either player even touched the ball.
The game remained as close as the unofficial three-way competition between Amaize and Mattisseck. Alba was ahead by two points at the break, but quickly expanded this lead after the break. Rostock had a very difficult time offensively, Justin Bean shone with some strong defensive actions and Mattisseck approached his personal best of 19 points. The 24-year-old exceeded this in the final quarter and was not only able to celebrate his 13th win in a row.