By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Definitely, the biggest highlight of 2021 was back in June, the second straight easyCredit BBL championship and tenth overall domestic title in team history. On New Year’s Eve at home, Alba Berlin rolled s.Oliver Wurzburg, 96-61.
Swedish Marcus Eriksson connected 5/5 from beyond the arc to register the game-high 17 points in the easyCredit BBL Regular Season Round 14 held Friday. Yovel Zoosman added 15 points powered by 6/8 field goals.
Former Stanford standout Oscar da Silva followed with 14 points, while Johannes Thiemann chipped in 11 points. Luke Sikma dished out eight assists plus two points and five rebounds in 10:54. Desi Rodriguez notched a team-high 12 points for the visitors.
The team based in the capital and largest city of Germany jumped to a 15-2 lead and never looked back. The 30-point cushion midway through the third quarter put the game way beyond doubt. Following the break, the lead peaked at 38 points.
Key players Ben Lammers and Maodo Lo were rested, while Tim Schneider remained out with an illness.
The team coached by Israel Gonzalez improved to 9-4 at the domestic level but trails leader Telekom Baskets Bonn by a margin of 2.5 games. FC Bayern Munich ranks second behind a 10-3 record.
Moving forward, Alba is scheduled to visit the Hamburg Towers Sunday in BBL Regular Season Round 15 before hosting Panathinaikos OPAP Thursday in Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 19. The current 6-11 W-L tally in Europe’s premier club continental competition, 2.5 games behind the top eight spots leading to the Playoffs, bests only the Greens at 4-13 and Zalgiris Kaunas at 3-13.