In top-level sport, tactics are not just about moves. Especially before important events people like to gamble and cheat in advance. On Wednesday, Marko Pesic, manager of Bayern Munich basketball, assured with a serious expression that captain Vladimir Lucic would definitely miss the top four of the German Cup due to his persistent elbow injury. Three days later, in the semi-final against Alba Berlin, the key Serbian player was suddenly on the field for the first time in almost three months.
Bayern managed to surprise, but another unexpected move was even more important. Especially in the early stages, the Munich team played unusually quickly and actually got involved with Alba’s style. However, they did so with such an attentive defense that the Berliners seemed downright helpless at times. In the duel between the big rivals, Bayern deservedly prevailed with 83:77 (21:17, 19:21, 20:13, 23:26). This is the first national final without Alba since the 2016/17 season.
Munich meets Baskets Oldenburg on Sunday. After being 16 points behind, the hosts prevailed against the giants Ludwigsburg in the second half with an impressive willpower. The outstanding player was point guard DeWayne Russell, who was on the field for 37 minutes and had eight assists in addition to 26 points. The Oldenburg fans can therefore dream of a repeat of the triumph of 2015 on Sunday, when the Lower Saxony, also in their own hall, won the cup for the first and only time so far.
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Points by Jaleen Smith weren’t enough for Alba
The anticipated final between Alba and Bayern began with good news for both teams. Not only Lucic was back for Bayern, but also Othello Hunter, Isaac Bonga, Corey Walden and Cassius Winston. The Berliners were able to plan with the recently ailing top performers Luke Sikma, Maodo Lo and Tamir Blatt.
The tempo was high right from the start and in the first few minutes both teams preferred to throw from distance – and with success. While Bayern got a certain amount of variability in their game as a result, Alba was too dependent on his threes.
This was mainly due to the opponent’s aggressive defense. Coach Andrea Trinchieri’s team narrowed the space in the zone, forced many ball losses and used them to score quick points. Bayern gradually pulled away, and by the middle of the second quarter the gap was already ten points.
But Alba found her way back into this game. Although their inspiring fast-paced basketball was only sporadically recognizable, the Berliners fought their way to the free-throw line and had the most conspicuous player in their ranks in Jaleen Smith. The guard kept Alba alive with 16 points in the first half alone and at the break the defending champion was extremely well served with the 38:40.
After the change of sides, things got even better for the Berliners with a three-pointer from Malte Delow – but only for a short time. Munich quickly took the lead again and Andreas Obst in particular turned up the heat. After the national player’s third goal from distance within four minutes, Alba’s coach Israel Gonzalez could not avoid a time-out.
But nothing helped. The Berliners never gave up, but didn’t find their game and will have a new experience on Sunday: When it comes to the title, they just watch.
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