s.Oliver Würzburg suffers 69:108 defeat at ALBA BERLIN

Going into the encounter, Head Coach Denis Wucherer spoke about the fact that s.Oliver Würzburg was forced to field a totally depleted squad on Sunday against, of all teams, last season’s runners-up and EuroCup finalists ALBA BERLIN. Apart from Johannes Richter, Jordan Hulls and the two youngsters Badu Buck and Joshua Obiesie, Gabriel Olaseni was also forced to withdraw at short notice. The lack of depth and substance made itself felt: Although the visitors from Lower Franconia again demonstrated their fine morale, they were not able prevent the third-placed club from chalking up a clear start-to-finish victory on its home turf. “We had hoped for a tighter game, but we didn’t find our rhythm in offense or defense,” said Florian Koch after the 69:108 (28:49) loss is front of just over 8,800 spectators in the Mercedes Benz Arena.

In view of the long injury list and the demanding remaining program of four games in eight days, Denis Wucherer had announced that second-string players would also get a lot of time on court – and Würzburg’s Head Coach remained true to his word in Berlin: None of the remaining ten players who were able to be called on, including 19-year-old Fynn Fischer and ProB captain Julian Albus, was on court for longer than 25 minutes, but neither was anyone given less than 10 minutes – after all, Würzburg faces its next game on the road in Bayreuth on Tuesday evening.

s.Oliver Würzburg needs to win at Bayreuth and also on Friday in its final home game in the regular season of the easyCredit German Basketball League against Telekom Baskets Bonn (in the s.Oliver Arena on May 10, tip-off: 8:30 p.m.) to have any realistic chance of qualifying for the playoffs on the 34th and final game day (at Brose Bamberg on Sunday, May 12, tip-off: 6 p.m.). “We’ll fight to advance to the playoffs and give our all in every game. It’ll be tough, but we won’t give up until the final buzzer on the last game day,” said Managing Director Steffen Liebler in a half-time interview with MagentaSport: “But even if we don’t reach the playoffs, we won’t be disappointed, as we’ve already had a very successful season we can be proud of. We have a team that’s fun to watch and want to maintain continuity and keep as many of the players in the squad as possible.”

Four days after the high-class, strength-sapping FIBA Europe Cup final, and also due to the additional withdrawal of Gabriel Olaseni, the club from Lower Franconia expected tough going in the German capital – and that was confirmed in the opening spell: ALBA BERLIN began with far more energy, chalked up a high scoring percentage from the very first minute (18 buckets from downtown to give a 3-point field goal percentage of 58) and was able to take a double-digit lead as early as the fifth minute (15:5) through the former Würzburg player Joshiko Saibou.

Like in the game between the two in the s.Oliver Arena earlier in the season, Berlin took the first half against a decimated Würzburg team: German international Nils Giffey notched up nine points in three minutes in the first period to help put ALBA 29:15 in front. After a run of 13 points without reply straddling the quarters, the Albatrosses led 35:15 in the 11th minute, did not slacken in the further course of the game and went in at half-time with a 9:28 advantage. The home side continued to extend its clear lead after the break. Although Wucherer’s players tried to put up stiff resistance and displayed fine morale, the gap had grown to 74:44 when Felix Hoffmann drained a buzzer-beating shot from way downtown at the end of the third period – one of the few highlights from Würzburg’s point of view.

Berlin was able to stretch its lead even further in the last period as the game’s intensity slackened. Julian Albus added a three from the left-hand corner to make the final score 108:69. “We have a lot of injured players, didn’t get into our rhythm at all, and didn’t have enough energy in offense or defense. We have to tick off the game here, look ahead and prepare for the next opponent,” said Florian Koch after the final buzzer: “We’re still in a position where we can reach the playoffs. The game in Bayreuth on Tuesday is what counts now, but it’ll also be tough there again.”

Florian Koch, s.Oliver Würzburg, commented:

“It’s always difficult to win in Berlin, but we had hoped for a tighter game. We have a lot of injured players, didn’t get into our rhythm at all, and didn’t have enough energy in offense or defense. We have to tick off the game here, look ahead and prepare for the next opponent. We’re still in a position where we can reach the playoffs. The game in Bayreuth on Tuesday is what counts now, but it’ll also be tough there again.”

Denis Wucherer, Head Coach of s.Oliver Würzburg, commented:

“Congratulations to Coach Aito and ALBA BERLIN on their win. Unfortunately, what we had feared after the FIBA Europe Cup final on Wednesday and in view of our many injured players turned out to be true. We were missing Johannes Richter, Jordan Hulls and Gabriel Olaseni, and our youngsters Badu Buck and Joshua Obiesie are also not available. So it was difficult today to call on a squad with enough strength, substance and depth to defy and match a top team like ALBA BERLIN on its home turf.”

Source: https://www.soliver-wuerzburg.de/