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Berlin (AP) - Alba Berlin narrowly missed a small surprise in his penultimate game in the basketball Euroleague.
On Good Friday, the Berliners were defeated by the Spanish top team Valencia Basket, despite a temporary 18-point lead with 86:90 (53:42).
While the Spaniards are still fighting for a playoff spot, Alba was no longer sporting anything.
The best throwers from Berlin were Marcus Eriksson with 17 and Simone Fontecchio with 16 points.
Coach Aito Garcia Reneses had to do without the injured national player Maodo Lo, and captain Niels Giffey was given a break.
Valencia quickly took a 3-0 lead, but Alba defended very carefully and hardly allowed any free throws.
The guests didn't get a point for about five minutes, Alba moved away to 13: 3.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the lead even increased to 18 points (35:17).
After that, however, the guests got better into the game and hit their distance throws.
But Alba was also accurate, always had an answer and was able to hold the lead until the break.
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The Spaniards came out of the cabin with a lot of momentum and hardly allowed Alba good throwing positions.
They equalized to 61:61.
But the Berliners remained unimpressed and took the lead again.
With 77 seconds to go, Valencia was back in front after a long time (85:83).
The Berliners were able to counter again, but in the end the Spaniards had the happier end for themselves.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210402-99-68964 / 2
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ALBA Berlin squad