By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
A quick turnaround for both ALBA Berlin and Valencia results in the German outlet prevailing, 100-92, at the La Fonteta Thursday.
The high-scoring Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 12 affair was powered by the visitors netting 17/32 shots from beyond the arc. The 17 threes reset the team record in Europe’s premier continental club competition surpassing the previous mark of 14.
Jayson Granger sank five three-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points. In-form Luke Sikma scored 15 points. Johannes Thiemann got 15 more and Niels Giffey 13. Peyton Siva added nine points and ten assists.
“We came out aggressive and attacking, not scared of anybody, which is how we want to play,” said Sikma after the conclusion, “It is quite a bounce-back win, especially playing on the road. With the schedule we have this month, we will take any win we can, so we are really happy with this one.”
The team coached by Aito Garcia Reneses missing Marcus Eriksson, Simone Fontecchio, Ben Lammers, and Lorenz Brenneke led for most of the game and for the entire second half mostly controlling proceedings. The German club was coming off an away loss to AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milano Tuesday.
“One thing that helped us is having no pressure to win, because with four players injured it is very difficult to play normal. But we played better than normal today,” mentioned the experienced head coach, “It happens sometimes when there is a big win, like Valencia won in Barcelona, then this game it is a little bit more difficult to be mentally ready for this game.”
Six double-digit scorers were not enough for Jaume Ponsarnau’s side struggling to contain the opposing offense two days after beating FC Barcelona in ACB action. Martin Hermannsson facing a former team for the first time shared a team-high 13 points with Klemen Prepelic. Vanja Marinkovic, Joan Sastre, and Louis Labeyrie were sidelined.
“This game is proof we have a problem playing games with only 48 hours to prepare. And this is especially a big problem if we face teams that play so good, like ALBA did today,” argued Ponsarnau, “With a very good game plan, cooling us with zone defense, and many of our most important players did not get the feeling that we have to have to play a game like this.”
ALBA earning the first-ever EuroLeague win against Valencia improved its current season tally to 4-7. Up next, Fenerbahce Beko Thursday after a couple of domestic road affairs Sunday and Tuesday.
The Spanish outlet down 7-4 after dropping its winning streak will move on for two more home matches versus Zenit Saint-Petersburg Tuesday and Anadolu Efes Thursday.