Basketball Bundesliga
Alba Berlin and Chemnitz start the playoffs with wins
Sterling Brown (l) and the Albatrosses won the series against Telekom Baskets Bonn 1-0. photo
© Andreas Gora/dpa
Alba Berlin and the Niners Chemnitz won their first playoff games. Both teams can take the next step towards the semi-finals at home on Sunday.
Alba Berlin and the Niners Chemnitz have made a successful start to the playoffs of the Basketball Bundesliga. The Berliners clearly won the first quarter-final game at home in front of 7,071 spectators against Telekom Baskets Bonn with 94:68 (41:31). Chemnitz prevailed against Rasta Vechta with 83:77 (42:34).
Alba and Chemnitz are each leading 1-0 in the best-of-five series. The next games for both teams will take place on Sunday. Berlin and Chemnitz have home advantage again before the third game goes to Bonn and Vechta next Tuesday.
The game in Berlin started off very disjointed and there was no real rhythm at first. The defensive lines dominated on both sides. The home team initially lost too many balls and missed too many shots. A 10-0 run right before halftime gave Alba a double-digit lead at the break.
Alba confidently brings the lead to the finish
The hosts continued this seamlessly after the break. Bonn continued to defend itself with a lot of physicality, but the Berliners were able to extend their lead. Alba brought this to the finish line confidently and was even able to conserve regular staff. The best throwers were Berlin’s Matt Thomas with 18 points and Bonn’s Noah Kirkwood (14).
The two surprise teams Chemnitz and Vechta initially fought a duel at eye level. However, Europe Cup winner Chemnitz had the better defense and was also superior to promoted team Vechta in the end. As a result, the Saxons pulled away in the third quarter. But Vechta never gave up and put in a strong final quarter. In the end, the Niners saved the victory. The best throwers were Deandre Lansdowne (Chemnitz/22) and Tommy Kuhse (Vechta/18).