Two days after the defeat in Braunschweig, Alba Berlin just avoided the next setback in the Basketball Bundesliga. On Tuesday evening (April 30, 2024), the Berlin team won against MLP Academics Heidelberg with 96:89 (47:45).
But the capital city team had to tremble until the end, so they remained second in the table. The best Berlin throwers were Johannes Thiemann with 21 and Sterling Brown with 19 points.
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Alba without five
World champion Thiemann returned to the hosts, but point guard Martin Hermannsson sat out with a slight injury. While Alba hardly had any centers in the last few weeks, they now had to make do without a real playmaker. A total of five regular employees are still missing. Alba initially coped well with this.
Heidelberg scored the first points, but the Berliners immediately countered with a 14-0 run. They were able to pull away by 14 points at the end of the first quarter (28:14). But then the ball losses and missed throws increased. And Heidelberg started to score better – especially from distance. Shortly after the break, the guests equalized to 47:47.
The game was now evenly matched. After a good 26 minutes, Alba was suddenly 61:64 behind. So it stayed tight until the end. With 101 seconds left, the hosts were able to pull ahead decisively to 96:83. And then they couldn’t take it anymore.
Rostock with a liberation blow
At the same time, Veolia Towers Hamburg strengthened their position in the fight for the play-ins. With a 94:88 (46:36) over the penultimate Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, the Hamburg team maintained tenth place in the table and their lead over Bamberg Baskets. For Crailsheim, however, relegation is getting closer and closer.
Also because the Rostock Seawolves, another basement child, freed themselves from the worst worries of relegation. With the 91:85 (42:36) against the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg, Rostock achieved a breakthrough. With three games left, the Seawolves now have two more wins than Crailsheim.
Victories for Bonn and Würzburg
In the evening, the Telekom Baskets Bonn won 89:79 (46:41) at the Bamberg Baskets. Bonn continues to hope for direct qualification for the playoffs.
The Würzburg Baskets also took a big step towards the playoffs. Saso Filipovski’s team won against Syntainics MBC with 107:83 (53:48) and has the best chance of qualifying directly for the next round three game days before the end of the main round. The MBC, on the other hand, is still stuck in the relegation battle.
The last Bundesliga matchday takes place on May 12th. Places seven to ten will then play for the last two tickets for the play-offs, which start on May 17th and end on June 17th at the latest.