By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Thanks to a solid team effort, ALBA Berlin got the 83-63 win over Milan, with the Germans getting their third straight win and pushing the Italians to the last spot of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague standings, as both teams share a 6-12 record.
Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith with 17 and 16 points respectively led a balanced effort, as ALBA led from wire to wire and Milan couldn’t really react in any part of the game.
To be exact, Milan made it a five-point game (62-57) early in the fourth quarter, but ALBA answered with a 10-0 run while allowing a season-low 63 points. Milan on the other hand had just 5/26 threes.
“We played with a lot of effort and the commitment that the players have is unbelievable”, said ALBA coach Israel Gonzalez. “To beat Milan by 20, at the moment that they are in, as they are coming back, is very very good”.
As Lo admitted: “I think we did a good job to rebound the ball in certain stretches of the game, and that gave us a chance to get out and run and play with our pace. We got some stops here and there, which was good to break their momentum. It was a tough game, but I am glad we won”.
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot with 16 points and Brandon Davies with 13 were the only scorers in double digits from the losing side, which was trailing by 12 at halftime (45-33) and by nine entering the last quarter (60-51).
Despite the well-documented injury woes of Milan, coach Ettore Messina didn’t hide his disappointment: “First of all, ALBA plays well, and we know that. When we came close, to 6 or 7 points, we had three straight turnovers, and that was the game.”
From the winning side, Jaleen Smith added: “Our defense was the key. In the last couple of games, we stepped up our defense, especially our intensity, and we started getting stops. Our offense is flowing and we are feeling really good. I think we kept pushing and we all stayed positive and we knew it is going to turn around soon. And it turned around. I feel we got over the hump and now we are back to ourselves. I am very confident”.