Final Playoffs
A win is missing: dominant Alba basketball players before the coronation
At Alba Berlin everything is ready for the title hat-trick and at the same time the national double. Photo: Andreas Gora/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
It’s all done in Berlin! For the first time in 19 years, Alba wants to celebrate the championship in front of its own fans. Bayern are badly hit – and have only one hope.
All set for the title hat-trick! In the third final game of the basketball Bundesliga between the heavyweights Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich, the hosts can celebrate their third championship in a row on June 17 (7 p.m. / Sport1 and Magentasport).
The star ensemble from the Isar, in the Euroleague against FC Barcelona only narrowly missed the first Final Four participation of a German team in the premier class, is threatened with a season without a trophy – and then a summer break with many discussions.
Alba oozes confidence
Hardly anyone doubts that Alba makes everything clear at home. The Berliners have been trumping too confidently for weeks and have now won 19 games in a row. In the first two finals against their big rivals from Munich, the capital city also showed an impressive show of power. While Alba is bursting with self-confidence, Bayern are reaching their physical limits after 82 competitive games so far. In addition, in Darrun Hilliard, Corey Walden and now also Vladmir Lucic three top performers are not available. That’s too much even for the Munich team that has been upgraded.
Alba coach Israel González, on the other hand, who is on the verge of his first championship in his first year as head coach, has plenty to draw from and also has a squad with impressive team chemistry. “It’s just fun, whether in training or in the game,” said Alba center Johannes Thiemann.
Now the big race for the title should rise in the Mercedes Benz Arena. It would be the first time in 19 years that Alba would complete a championship in its own hall. In 2020, the title was won at the Corona tournament in Munich, and last year the Berliners also won the decisive victory in the Audi Dome. “We want to treat our home crowd to it,” said Alba’s Oscar da Silva. “We won the cup at home, but the championship is a bit bigger.”
“We are not going to Berlin without hope”
The Bavarians really only have the principle of hope. But that’s exactly where the chance for the Munich team to find their way back into the series can lie. “Everything will be ready in Berlin to lift the trophy,” said Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri. “The motto for game three is: never give up the fight, never!”
In the Euroleague and in the Bundesliga main round, Bayern achieved two victories in Berlin. “As long as we play, we have hope. We’re not going to Berlin without hope,” said captain Nihad Djedovic. “It’s nothing new to win in Berlin, we’ve done that a few times.” But the statistics speak against Bayern. Only once did a team manage to turn a 0-2 draw into a 3-2 draw in a series of finals: Bayreuth versus Leverkusen in 1989.