Title premiere was a success: Alba Berlin overthrew defending champion Keltern and won an exciting final game in front of a sold-out crowd. It is the first DBBL title for the Berliners.
Just two years after promotion to the 1st Women’s Basketball Bundesliga, the basketball players from Alba Berlin their first championship. On Wednesday, the team led by captain Lena Gohlisch prevailed in the decisive fifth final game against the Rutronik Stars Keltern with 68:53 (27:26).
The best thrower was Deshyra Thomas with 18 points.
Sold out Sömmeringhalle
The previous meeting in Berlin’s Sömmeringhalle had the otherwise strong home team Alba Berlin surprisingly well ten days earlier 47:68 lost. It was important for the hosts to avoid another home defeat in the decisive final game, and the team received correspondingly loud support from the stands in the Berlin Hall, which was sold out with 2,400 spectators.
In the opening minutes, the players on both teams’ hands were noticeably shaking. Numerous turnovers and missed throws from free positions were responsible for the relatively low points after just under five minutes, with Berlin leading 5:4.
But then an intense and competitive season finale developed, the appeal of which lay particularly in the aggressive defense of both teams. Many one-on-one duels took place directly under the baskets, where the action shifted. There was little going on for both teams from a distance. At the end of the first quarter, center Maggie Mulligan spectacularly blocked Alexandria Kiss-Rusk as she went for a layup.
Alba is getting better and better into the game
After both teams initially played on par, the guests from the Northern Black Forest pulled away at the beginning of the second quarter, not least because they were able to get two complicated shots into the basket: Courtajia Sanders sank from half-distance as the shot clock expired, her teammate Adrienne Webb scored in the She also hit the next attack and hit a free throw, which she put in the basket for a 21:13 lead.
But the Berliners got into the game better and better, supported by the frenetic crowd: Mulligan hit the first three-pointer of the game, Deshyra Thomas drew two fouls within a short space of time and converted all four free throws and Laina Snyder was successful from long half distance. The hosts went into the half-time break with a 27:26 lead.
Alba remains strong nerves
In the second half, too, the game was characterized by numerous turnovers and sometimes desperate shots because the shot clock was running out mercilessly. Captain and development player Lena Gohlisch also had few attempts in the basket that day, but once again she shone with a rapid move into the zone and quick passes. This was also the case in the last seconds of the third quarter, when she served the free-standing Nina Rosemeyer, who sank a three-pointer for a 43:42 lead at the same time as the quarter-final siren sounded.
In the last quarter, the Berliners were increasingly able to patiently let the ball run, even in a heated atmosphere, until the best-positioned player was found to finish. Deshyra Thomas increasingly took on responsibility, put teammates in the spotlight and hit her own shots ice-cold.
Three minutes before the end of the game, when most of the 2,400 spectators were no longer in their seats, Snyder made the preliminary decision: As the shot clock expired, she hit her three-point attempt and put her team in the lead by ten points. Visibly demoralized, the Celtic women allowed the ball to be stolen from Marie Bertholdt, who sprinted towards the basket alone and easily converted the layup.
The Berliners couldn’t let their victory be taken away from them and were crowned the new German champions.
promotion two years ago
Alba Berlin, which was only promoted to the 1st DBBL for the 2022/23 season, finished this year’s main round as first in the table. On the way to the final of the playoffs, the Berliners confidently defeated the Royals Saarlouis and the Gisa Lions MBC 3-0.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, May 1, 2024, 5:30 p.m
