Up and down at the start of the season: Alba Berlin has to slowly pick up momentum – sport
As a fan or employee of Alba Berlin, you currently need a certain tolerance for frustration. Whenever, after a convincing performance, it looks as if the new team has found itself, a bitter setback follows. Because nothing else was the 59:65 defeat on Sunday in their own hall against BG Göttingen. Two days after the impressively ripped off away win in the cauldron of Belgrade Alba against the Lower Saxony offensive of the weakest games in the recent past – and on Tuesday (8 p.m., Magentasport) the Euroleague at Olympiacos will continue.
The managing directors around manager Marco Baldi, sports director Himar Ojeda and head coach Israel Gonzalez can feel that their warnings have been confirmed, but would certainly like to do without them. Again and again they had emphasized that after the next upheaval in the squad and the departure of legendary coach Aito Garcia Reneses, a lot of patience would be required and defeats should be taken into account. But the extent of the inconsistency is also slowly becoming frustrating for the responsibilities.
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“It’s a question of mental attitude,” said Gonzalez, referring to the miserable throwing rates against Göttingen. The team wanted, ran and fought, but at the moment it is simply overwhelmed by the tight rhythm of the game. Even in the past few years, Alba has not conjured up Alba basketball on the floor every two days. However, the rashes were large, so that it was usually enough for a win against teams like Göttingen even on weaker days. This security is currently lacking. Too many players are still looking for their role, for the automatisms – and after a short preparation with many injuries, this is only too understandable.
Still, it’s time for Alba to pick up momentum. The return of important players like Johannes Thiemann and Christ Koumadje, who died on Sunday for the first time this season, were able to play for a few minutes, will help the team, albeit not necessarily immediately. The best medicine for a lack of self-confidence is still success. A few wins in a row can work wonders in the minds of professional athletes. But you have to get them first.