Real holds firm to triumph in Berlin
Real Madrid survived a strong fightback from ALBA Berlin to take a 63-72 road win in the German capital on Friday night. Real took early control to establish a double-digit lead before the end of the first quarter, and that advantage was maintained until half-time, 30-40. Real protected its lead in the third period, but ALBA mounted an 11-0 fourth quarter run to get within 63-65 before Real pulled clear for good. Fabien Causeur led the winners with 13 points, and Carlos Alocen scored 12. Walter Tavares nearly grabbed a double-double with 9 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, while Gabriel Deck added 9 points and 8 boards. ALBA’s Luka Sikma topped all scorers with 16 points, with Ben Lammers (11) and Marcus Eriksson (10) also in double figures. Real improves to 15-8 to protect its position in the top four, while ALBA drops to 8-15.
Dec 16, 2020 by Euroleague.net Print
Late in the third quarter of Tuesday night s Round 14 encounter at Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, it looked as though ALBA Berlin was heading for a heavy loss. The German team had been desperately struggling to score since halftime, and Zvezda had followed the old maxim of turning defense into offense by racing into a 14-point lead, 55-41.
ALBA, though, had grown in confidence over the last few weeks, and now the visitors refused to panic. Aito Garcia Reneses s men did not drop their heads, kept themselves in the game and then mounted a seriously impressive comeback in the fourth quarter that ultimately led to an overtime victory.