Alba is back after a nerve-wracking learning curve
“A coach sometimes makes mistakes,” admitted Alba’s coach Gonzalez with a smile, looking at the personnel Gabriele Procida (left)
Source: pa/Eibner-Pressefoto/Roger Buerke
With the victory at ratiopharm Ulm, Alba Berlin has arrived in the play-offs. However, the defending champion also needed some time in the second duel to gain a foothold. A Berliner played surprisingly in the foreground.
GThere was great relief among the basketball players from Alba Berlin three days after the sobering home debacle at the start of the play-off quarterfinals. “I’m very happy because that was a very important win for us. We got the home advantage back,” said sporting director Himar Ojeda after the 91:77 win at ratiopharm Ulm. In the best-of-five series it is 1:1. Alba had lost the first game in Berlin with 64:88.
This Friday, Alba can take the lead for the first time in this series with a home win (7 p.m., Magentasport). The defending champion wants to take the momentum from the second half in Ulm with him. “We have now found a way and learned how to beat them in the playoffs,” said Ojeda. The Spaniard therefore demands full commitment again. “We have to maintain this intensity now. We need 100 percent again for 40 minutes and a lot of aggressiveness. Because in the play-offs more is allowed in duels,” he said.
Especially since Alba initially had problems finding the right intensity in the second game and initially had to approach it in a nerve-wracking process. “The first half was actually normal and what we expected,” said Ojeda. But this time the capitals were able to up the ante in the second half. And the more Alba came up, the more Ulm dismantled.
Shooting guard Gabriele Procida was Alba’s key player
Above all, the sports director saw the better defensive work as the key to victory. “We regained our self-confidence on the defensive and then took it with us on the offensive. The coaches said we have to keep believing in our defense,” he said.
A key player was shooting guard Gabriele Procida. The 20-year-old Italian has mostly been a little under the radar in his first season in Berlin. In Ulm he now had his moment of glory. “He worked hard all year and learned a lot. It wasn’t easy for him. But he was there at exactly the right moment,” said Ojeda happily.
Procida hit all five of his throws, including four three-pointers. “He played an excellent game. I hope he continues that now,” praised coach Israel Gonzalez. The 20-year-old ensured that Alba was able to pull away decisively. “In the first half we were missing those threesomes. With his points, he also made it easier for us on defense,” said Ojeda.
Procida was still suspended in the first play-off game and only came in the second half on Wednesday. “A coach sometimes makes mistakes,” Gonzalez admitted with a smile.
