Five minutes before the end of the second quarter-final, Noah Kirkwood had free rein and was on his way to giving the Bonn basketball team the lead for the first time in the game. But Johannes Thiemann rushed up in his slipstream and powerfully blocked the lay-up against the board. A few seconds later, Khalifa Koumadje powerfully stuffed the ball into the basket on the other side. Alba Berlin remained in the lead and never relinquished it.
The favorite won a hard-fought game in front of 6,887 fans in the Max-Schmeling-Halle 83:70 (23:21, 21:19, 20:19, 19:11). In the quarter-final series it is 2-0 for the Berliners, who can make it into the semi-finals on Tuesday (6.30 p.m.) in Bonn. The best throwers at Alba were Thiemann (15 points), Matt Thomas (13), Sterling Brown (12) and Koumadje (10 points, 11 rebounds). Brian Fobbs (17) was the most successful for Bonn.
Alba went into the game with the same squad as on Friday, with Justin Bean still missing with a minor ankle injury. After Bonn’s weak performance in the first meeting, the Berliners had expected a reaction from their opponents – and it came. The guests only hit one of their first six shots in the opening phase, while Alba took advantage of every opportunity, but the effort was right for the Bonn team.
They grabbed one offensive rebound after the other and repeatedly created second chances. As the shots became more precise, Roel Moors’ team came closer and closer.
Alba lost the ball significantly less than on Friday and, again led by the extremely efficient Matt Thomas, repeatedly pulled away easily through small runs. However, due to the problems with the rebound, this was not sustainable. After the Berliners had already taken a double-digit lead early on, Bonn equalized for the first time with a three-pointer from Harald Frey in the middle of the second quarter. Berlin still had a narrow lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Alba worked a little more attentively on rebounds, but the shooting rate fell noticeably. The first eleven three-pointers after the break all missed their target and so the Bonn team managed to keep the game open until the final quarter.
After a strong phase from Sterling Brown, it was Thiemann with his block and several shots in the zone as well as Martin Hermannsson who secured Alba’s victory. The Icelander ended the dry spell from distance two and a half minutes before the end and gave the Berlin team a 75:68 lead. The guests never recovered from this.