Alba Berlin travels to Istanbul with a lot of luggage and playoff dreams
Alba Berlin on an away trip to Istanbul
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With extra baggage and playoff dreams to the Bosphorus
Mon 03/28/22 | 9:22 p.m. | Of
Alba’s basketball players left for a six-day trip to Istanbul on Monday. Also in the luggage: hope for the playoff, desire for sightseeing, but also heavy legs and worries about injuries. By Jakob Lobach
The Alba Berlin players’ suitcases were a little heavier than usual when their owners hoisted them onto the blue bus on Monday morning. Normally, the black bags on wheels have luggage for one day’s arrival and departure and one game day in between when the basketball players gather at their training center on Schützenstrasse for departure. This time, however, Alba’s players had to stow a few more underpants, t-shirts and training clothes in their suitcases. The reason for all the luggage: Two away games in Istanbul this week bring Alba a six-day trip to the Bosphorus.
On Tuesday (8 p.m.) Alba will perform in the Ülker Sports Arena on Fenerbahce Istanbul, which is already on Asian soil. On Friday, almost 25 kilometers further west and thus back in Europe, a guest appearance at defending champion Anadolu Efes is on the program. With two wins in Istanbul, the Berliners would have a realistic chance of making the playoffs in the Euroleague shortly before the end of the regular season. An already difficult scenario, which is made even more difficult by exploration, corona cases and a merciless game plan.
Old and new injured
Alba’s basketball players fly to Istanbul with additional luggage, but also with seven games from the past 19 days and fewer players than usual. After at the Defeat in Chemnitz last Sunday Tamir Blatt could not participate due to a corona infection, Alba’s top performer and offensive control center Luke Sikma is now also absent in Istanbul due to illness. In addition, there is the long-term injured Marcus Eriksson and Tim Schneider (back problems) is also a doubt to play this week. “Our squad is slightly decimated right now,” summarizes forward Oscar da Silva.
And yet there is reason to be happy at Alba: After winger Yovel Zoosman had already made his comeback in the course of the month, the youngest Johannes Thiemann was back on the floor against Chemnitz after recovering from ankle problems. And Louis Olinde is also making a comeback six weeks after injuring his fingertip. When the forward stowed his suitcase in the Alba bus on Tuesday with his right hand, he had a firm grip on his water bottle with his left hand, which was now without a splint. “The finger is getting better and better,” explains Olinde, who hopes to be able to play again on Friday.
reasons to be happy
The biggest reason for Alba’s joy, however, is that four games before the end of the Euroleague main round, the playoffs IS an issue at all. With a record of 10:14, the team of coach Israel Gonzalez is currently in eleventh place in the table, but has only one defeat more than the French from AS Monaco, who are in a playoff place. In 2022 in particular, Alba has impressively proven with five wins from the past seven games that you can keep up in the European bel étage. The current Euroleague season should be considered a success at Alba even if the playoffs are missed in the end.
It also fits the picture when Oscar da Silva says shortly after his sentence about his team’s injury situation: “We still have enough quality to win games.” When asked about the effects of the defeat against Chemnitz, the tight schedule and the injury concerns, Louis Olinde also replies: “I think we still have very good momentum and are in good rhythm.”
Alba has recently seen what this momentum can look like when it was so clear Demonstrated victory against Red Star Belgrade. After two clear defeats on the European stage, Alba won against the competitor in the playoff race in terms of play, but also in terms of intensity and mentality. It seems as if the Berliners now have more than ever the self-image of being able to win even tight games in the Euroleague. Of course, the fact that point guard Maodo Lo is in top form in the best season of his career also helps.
Between the cauldron and sightseeing
Despite all this, the two games in Istanbul should be real endurance tests for Alba. “Fenerbahce and Efes are very good teams,” agrees Louis Olinde. Anadolu Efes Istanbul, with its top-class team led by the guard duo Shane Larkin/ Vasilije Micić, is even one of the favorites for the title in the league. In addition, according to Olinde, “it’s always hard to play in front of the fans in Istanbul.” No wonder, since they regularly transform their home arenas into real witches’ cauldrons. So it wouldn’t be surprising if Alba’s play-off hopes are already gone when they return from Istanbul next weekend.
On the other hand, another hope of Louis Olinde and Oscar da Silva is likely to be fulfilled in the coming days: the hope of a round of sightseeing in the city on the Bosphorus. “18 degrees and sun, you can look forward to it,” says Olinde with a smile. And da Silva added his first visit to Istanbul: “We’ve been there long enough this time to have a look at something.”
Broadcast: rbb UM6, March 28, 2022, 6 p.m