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Berlin (dpa / bb) - The worry lines are getting bigger.
"We're running out of players," said Alba Berlin manager Marco Baldi: "And that's a real problem."
Not only the 71:74 home defeat in the Euroleague on Tuesday evening against Lithuania series champion Zalgiris Kaunas hurt.
In the last quarter, Berlin's most important player in Luke Sikma was injured.
"He had muscular problems," said interim head coach Israel Gonzalez.
This means that Sikma threatens to fail in the catch-up game against the Löwen Braunschweig on New Year's Eve (2 p.m. / Magentasport).
It is still open whether the game will take place at the Lions after a Corona case.
“That is of course very strange.
But you only look from day to day anyway, ”said Forward Tim Schneider.
"We are preparing normally," announced Guard Jonas Mattisseck.
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However, under the currently difficult circumstances.
On the one hand, trainer Aito Garcia is still in quarantine after his corona infection, but is said to only suffer from mild cold symptoms.
On the other hand, in Peyton Siva, Ben Lammers, Marcus Eriksson and now possibly also Sikma, four regular employees are injured.
“We now have four top performers out there.
That really hurts, ”said Baldi.
But the Alba manager did not want to say whether the brutally tight schedule is the reason for the injury misery.
«Nobody really knows.
But of course that contributes to that, ”he said.
And the program doesn't get any easier.
Because the Zalgiris game was just the start of nine games in 19 days.
Such is assistant coach Gonzalez, who acts as head coach in Aito's absence so as not to envy his job.
«That is a special situation.
But of course we hope that Aito will come back as soon as possible, ”said the Spaniard.
At the same time, the 58-year-old criticized the number of games this season in an interview with Magentasport.
"The game plan is hell, that's actually not acceptable."
For Baldi there is a reason why Alba is still doing well: “We are supported by the solidarity and unity of the team.
But that too will be finite at some point when the energy runs out completely. "
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Euroleague table
ALBA Berlin squad