Alba Berlin prevailed on the 29th day of the EuroLeague in the German duel against Bayern Munich with 76:75. It was the fifth meeting of the two rivals this season, Berlin reduced the record to 2-3. At the same time, it was Alba’s first EuroLeague win over arch-rivals.
“We weren’t consistent enough and missed a few throws. There are days like that, we won’t worry too much about that,” said Munich’s Andreas Obst MagentaSport. Alba’s Tamir Blatt said: “It’s the biggest rivalry in German basketball, we’ve invested a lot – the win feels great.”
In the first quarter, ex-Munich Maodo Lô (2018-2020) stood out for Alba. The 30-year-old scored 12 points, converting all of his seven free throws. Also because Bayern only sunk one of their eight attempts from three in this section, they were 14:20 behind at the end of the first section.
Alba extended his lead in the sold-out Audi Dome (6,500 spectators, including a few dozen Berlin fans) to nine points (38:29) shortly before the half-time break, before the hosts were able to reduce it to 37:38.
In the second half, an extremely close duel developed with constantly changing leads between the Bundesliga second (Alba) and third (Bayern). At the end of the third quarter, the Munich team increased their quota of three to 28.6 percent (six out of 21) and led 58:56 – the atmosphere in the Audi Dome heated up more and more.
Bayern Munich – Alba Berlin: Last second dunk brings the decision
1:13 minutes before the end, Cassius Winston gave Munich a lead of 75:74 in front of a standing spectator – but the Albatrosses struck back again: Shortly before the clock ran out, Yannick Wetzell dunk under the basket after a pass from Lô and sank 1.3 seconds before the end to victory. Bayern’s long-distance specialist Obst, whose contract extension until 2026 was only announced in the morning, took the last shot, but clearly missed.
The best Bayern throwers of the evening were Winston (14 points) and Isaac Bonga (12). On the Berlin side, Lô was the best scorer of the evening with a total of 16 points. Behind him, Wetzell (11) was the second-best scorer, while Blatt (10) also scored in double figures.
With the victory, Alba handed over the 18th and last place in the EuroLeague to the French from LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne. Munich remain in 15th place. Both teams no longer have a chance of making the playoffs.
