The basketball players from Alba Berlin fought back their advantage in another exciting playoff final against FC Bayern Munich and are only one victory away from another championship title.
The team of coach Aito Garcia Reneses won on Saturday in Munich with 81:69 (37:37) - in the best-of-five series it is 2: 1 for the capital city.
Alba can already defend his title perfectly in game four on Sunday (3 p.m.).
Bayern, on the other hand, absolutely need the home win to force an all-important fifth game on Tuesday in Berlin.
Contested match
In an extremely competitive match, Marcus Eriksson and Luke Sikma were the most successful throwers for the Berliners with 13 points each, who famously made up nine points behind in the third quarter.
The injury-ridden Bavarians 23 points from DJ Seeley were not enough for victory.
After the opening double in Berlin, Bayern wanted to use their momentum and the often invoked momentum in their own hall in front of the home fans.
For the first time in 465 days, spectators were once again allowed to enter the Audi Dome;
Bad start
Munich's managing director Marko Pesic wanted the “necessary push” from the ranks - but his team completely botched the start and was 9-0 down. Only Leon Radosevic with a free throw brought the hosts on the scoreboard. The experienced center had missed the first match in Berlin with an ankle injury and is now making his comeback to the final. He almost became a tragic figure afterwards when the Munich guarantor Vladimir Lucic stepped on Radosevic's foot and twisted his ankle. After a treatment break, Lucic returned to the field to the cheers of the fans.
The favorite fought their way back into the game without the further injured national player Paul Zipser, from the second quarter the game was fiercely contested.
Alba initially suffered from the fact that the otherwise dangerous sniper Marcus Eriksson rejected a lot of the three-line and Simone Fontecchio was burdened with fouls early on.
The stubborn Berliners could not be shaken off and not worn down by a run by Bayern in the third quarter and a nine-point deficit in the meantime - on the contrary: A successful three-point with the final siren of the third section brought Alba with 59:56 in the lead.
And in the end, the previous year's champion had significantly more energy than the Bavarians, who no longer hit their litters and could no longer stop the guests.