ALBA relishing their best EuroLeague start ever: 'Just a perfect night!' / News - Basketnews.com

ALBA Berlin head coach Israel Gonzalez emphasized continuity and hoped to receive the injured players soon as he's afraid it might cost the team in the longer period.

Credit: ALBA Berlin Credit ALBA Berlin

"Just a perfect night!" That was ALBA Berlin head coach Israel Gonzalez's conclusion after the convincing 94-65 victory over Panathinaikos Athens on the third matchday of the 2022-23 EuroLeague season.

Player of the Game EFF 34 Luke Sikma Points 16 Accuracy 6-10 Rebounds 15 Assists 6

After the Berliners had already captured upset wins against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, the Luke Sikma-led team now completed the best EuroLeague start ever.

In a game in which ALBA dominated on both sides of the court, the coach focused above all on the continuity from which his team now benefits after the game.

"I think that is an important factor that they have known each other for a long time," Gonzalez explained. "We move without the ball and bring the ball inside and outside, from one side to the other. To execute our free style of play, you must know your teammates tremendously well. We already did that last year, but now we're taking advantage of that."

After all, they were able to keep twelve players from last season and only strengthened and expanded the team around them with players like Gabriele Procida and Yannick Wetzell.

In advance of today's game, fans could have expected a tough game from two perspectives.

On the one hand, ALBA only had to play Bonn in the German BBL Cup on Monday. On the other hand, they had to play without three key players - big man Johannes Thiemann and the two playmakers Maodo Lo and Jaleen Smith.

All three had a huge influence in the first two victorious EuroLeague games. Despite this, ALBA won every single quarter against Panathinaikos by showing immense energy right from the start.

Asked whether the three players will return on Friday against Anadolu Efes Istanbul, coach Gonzalez left the question open.

"No idea if the three can return on Friday. I suspect not. However, there is a chance that they return on Sunday in the BBL."

Meanwhile, Marcus Eriksson remains out for the foreseeable future.

Gonzalez also emphasized the importance of having a deep roster after a journalist asked him ironically whether the injured players were being missed at all.

"I promise you, we need them. We need to rotate and play. We have a big roster this year to be able to rotate," he said. "Now, we have a lot of players playing a lot of minutes, and they need rest. I'm scared that we're going to play more if the injured players don't come early."

Whether Berlin can keep up their cross-competition winning streak of 7 games will be seen on Friday in Istanbul. However, it is certain that Berlin is already a lot of fun early in the season and can pose problems for any major opponent.

The playoffs are still a long way off, and it's just as obvious that defeats will come in the next days and weeks. Despite that, the entire ALBA organization can be extremely satisfied with the very strong early form of their team.

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