ALBA survive Belgrade's hell behind the solid defensive performance / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Srdjan Stevanovic/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

ALBA Berlin (2-3) defeated Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade (2-3) 78-63 (12-10, 26-15, 20-21, 20-17) to get an away win in hot Belgrade's atmosphere.

Player of the Game EFF 19 Maodo Lo Points 17 Accuracy 6-8 Rebounds 1 Assists 2

At the start of the second period, the German powerhouse spurted 16-2 and gained a solid double-digit lead (28-12). Tamir Blatt, Maodo Lo, and Oscar da Silva were leading the way, while Zvezda could not keep the ball in their hands (11 turnovers in 14 minutes).

However, the Serbian club answered with a 10-0 run on their own thanks to Nate Wolters, Luka Mitrovic, and Ognjen Dobric baskets (22-28). A Belgrade roller coaster continued, as ALBA finished the quarter strong to create a 13-point advantage (38-25).

Both clubs were going neck to neck in the second half. Neither team managed to organize a bigger push. It was a favorable scenario for ALBA which let them secure the comfortable win.

For the winners, Tamir Blatt had a career performance in the EuroLeague. He accumulated 10 points (2/2 2PT, 2/5 3PT), 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 drawn fouls, and 19 PIR.

"I feel great. It was great to play here, a great atmosphere. Zvezda is a great team. We really played together, shared the ball, played as a team both offensively and defensively. I'm really happy with the win we got," said Blatt post-game.

Maodo Lo added 17 points (3/4 2PT, 3/4 3PT, 2/2 FT), 1 rebound, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 3 drawn fouls, and 19 PIR.

ALBA bench boss Israel Gonzalez was glad about his team's performance tonight: "I'm very happy for my players. They played very good basketball today. Of course, we can improve some details on defense. But offensively we played very well: passing the ball, sharing the ball, moving without the ball."

Ognjen Kuzmic was a top performer for Zvezda, posting 16 points (6/6 2PT, 4/10 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 5 drawn fouls, and 22 PIR.

"Congratulations to ALBA. They played a really good game. They played much, much better than us. We were bad at both ends of the court for 40 minutes," admitted Dejan Radonjic after the duel.

ALBA: Maodo Lo 17, Luke Sikma 11 (7 REB, 3 AST), Yovel Zoosman 11 (3 REB), Tamir Blatt 10 (5 REB, 3 AST), Louis Olinde 9 (3 REB), Oscar da Silva 9 (3 REB, 3 AST), Jaleen Smith 8.

Zvezda: Ognjen Kuzmic 16 (6 REB), Nate Wolters 13 (5 AST), Luka Mitrovic 11 (9 REB, Austin Hollins 10.

Highlights

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