BERLIN (Germany) - Back-to-back wins in Germany, and now, back-to-back wins in the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
ALBA BERLIN have clicked together perfectly over the past two weeks, starting a winning run which puts them back in contention to win the group and move straight to the Round of 16 in the BCL.
They ended a four-game winning run on the road for ERA Nymburk, defeating them 94-78 in front of nearly 7,000 fans in Berlin.
Turning Point
Despite ALBA leading the game for 33:40 minutes and looking way more in control than Nymburk, nothing was really written up until the third quarter, when the Germans increased the margin.
In a matter of less than four minutes, Pedro Calles' team created a 13-2 run to reach their biggest lead up until that point at +12 (67-55).
From then on, the German giants didn't look back.
Player of the Game
In order to escape in the third stanza, ALBA trusted Justin Bean's all-around shooting brilliance.
The American forward had 9 of his 15 points in that stretch, and ultimately shot 7-of-9 from the field. However, after a perfect 8-of-8 run from the charity stripe, he missed the first free throw of his BCL campaign.
At the same time, Martin Hermannsson helped the team's offensive flow with 14 points and 5 assists. Sam Griesel had an 18-point winning effort, over 8-of-11 from the field.
Stats don't lie
ALBA made the sweetest of lemonades as the game gave them lemons cosplayed as Nymburk's turnovers: the hosts scored 30 points off the Czech team's 24 lost possessions. They finished with 14 steals.
The Germans were also better in points scored from the paint (44-34).
Bottom line
Before ALBA's third-quarter run, Nymburk looked confident about getting their 5th straight road victory in the BCL. However, they will return home with a loss, despite Sir' Jabari Rice's performance of 20 points and 4 assists off the bench.
Coach Oren Amiel will not be happy wit the way his team closed out the game. It could've been a much closer encounter than +16, which could prove crucial in case of a tie at the end of the Regular Season.
As for ALBA, they will keep their eyes peeled on Wednesday, as Sabah take on group leaders Elan Chalon.
Group winner move straight to the Round of 16, while second and third-placed teams enter the Play-Ins in January.
They said
"Obviously a really important win for us and we felt the energy from the crowd tonight and every single time that we get the chance to play in front of these fans in Berlin, there's just such a rich basketball culture here, I think a lot of it just playing for something bigger than yourself. And we feel that every night when we step out on the court and see the fans." - Sam Griesel, ALBA BERLIN