Israel Gonzalez had clearly communicated the most important instruction to his players the day before the game. Alba Berlin should not allow themselves to be thrown off course by the opponent’s toughness or whistles. Players and coaches knew what to expect in the first semi-final against the Niners Chemnitz – and yet on Tuesday evening exactly what Gonzalez had warned about happened at times.
Alba was particularly troubled by some questionable referee decisions in the second quarter. Johannes Thiemann was furious after a Chemnitz player hit him in the head with an elbow under the basket without any punishment, and the crowd booed the referees.
The Berliners lost the thread, conceded a 0:12 run at the end of the first half and lost 82:95 (19:20, 13:24, 27:28, 23:23) in front of 8,147 spectators in the Arena am Friedrichshain. The score in the best-of-five series is now 0:1, and the next game will take place on Friday (6:30 p.m.) in the Max-Schmeling-Halle.
Chemnitz have had an outstanding season so far and have won the Fiba Europe Cup. In the BBL main round, however, Alba won both duels. On Tuesday, an intense game developed from the start in which no one was able to pull ahead for a long time.
World champion Thiemann dominated the first few minutes with eight quick points and very determined moves under the basket. The guests were not impressed by this at all. They played as they always do: physically, unpleasantly and confidently. The latter was especially true for the nimble Wes van Beck and Jonas Richter.
After a balanced first quarter, however, things changed. Alba now had big problems in the zone and allowed a lot of offensive rebounds. Chemnitz used this to score easy points and when the Saxons also started shooting threes better, especially with Kevin Yebo, they gained a lead. The Berliners lost focus during this phase and went into the break with a 32:44 deficit.
After the break, Alba’s will to turn the game around was evident. Sterling Brown took over offensively, Thiemann also played very determinedly, and there was a clear improvement. However, Chemnitz countered every basket from Berlin ice cold despite increasing foul problems. Berlin fought their way closer in the final quarter, but the comeback was not successful despite 24 points from Brown and 23 from Thiemann.