Basketball Bundesliga
Alba Berlin is in the semi-finals after its third win against Bonn
Alba won the series against Bonn 3-0. photo
© Andreas Gora/dpa
Alba Berlin was the first team in the Basketball Bundesliga to qualify for the playoff semi-finals. Head coach Israel Gonzalez’s team also won the third game away from home against Telekom Baskets Bonn with 93:86 (40:41) and won the “best of five” series with three wins in three games. The eleven-time champions will meet the Niners Chemnitz or Rasta Vechta in the semi-finals.
From the beginning, between developed Bonn and Berlin played a close game in which no team was able to pull away with a difference of more than six points in the first half. Bonn went into the locker room with a 41:40 lead because they received more impulses from the bench and didn’t lose the ball as often as Berlin.
The hosts maintained a narrow lead for a long time in the third quarter before Louis Olinde (18 points) brought the Berliners back with three three-pointers. In the final section, the guests were always just ahead, and as in the second game, the decision was made in the final minutes: thanks to world champion Johannes Thiemann (18 points), the Berliners scored in four attacks in succession to decisively pull away to 91:81.