BC Bayern Roars Past MBC While Alba Stumbles in Playoff Debut
Bayern's basketball team is off to a victorious start in the playoffs.
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The Bayern basketball squad is off to a fiery start in the playoffs, while the former powerhouse Alba Berlin struggles to catch up.
In a stunning turn of events, the once-unstoppable Alba Berlin saw their triumphant streak in the BBL Fünfer-Final-Series come to a screeching halt. They suffered a 83-94 defeat to ratiopharm Ulm, now placing them in a 0-1 hole in the best-of-five series. The rematch is slated for Wednesday evening (8:00 PM/CET) in Berlin.
The seven-time BBL champions failed to dominate this round, despite their impressive streak during the regular season. Not even their home advantage could prevent them from falling behind in the third quarter, where Ulm held a commanding 30-22 lead. Noa Essengue, a frontrunner for this year's NBA draft, led Ulm's scoring with 21 points.
On the other hand, Bayern, the reigning champions, proved their mettle as the favorites. In their inaugural BBL playoff appearance at the SAP Garden, they outclassed cup champions Syntainics MBC 78-60 (41-27). Five of Bayern's players scored in double digits, with Shabazz Napier racking up 12 points and captain Vladimir Lucic hauling in an impressive 12 rebounds. Syntainics had managed to eliminate Bayern in the cup semis in their own den.
The fourth-placed Niners Chemnitz also faltered in their playoff debut. They lost the initial match against fifth-seeded MLP Academics Heidelberg 93-90 (46-44), thus giving away their home advantage. Top scorers Victor Bailey Jr. of Chemnitz and Ryan Mikesell of Heidelberg netted 27 points each. The next contest is set for Tuesday (8:00 PM/CET).
by Damian Kempthorne, Associate Researcher in Sports Journalism, based on ntv.de and ter/sid reports
Basketball Playoffs | Basketball Battles | Unexpected Outcomes
In the realm of European basketball, not even the once-unstoppable Alba Berlin could maintain their dominance in the BBL Fünfer-Final-Series, losing their opening match to ratiopharm Ulm, thus placing them at risk. Simultaneously, the reigning champions, BC Bayern, demonstrated their prowess as favorites by outclassing cup champions Syntainics MBC in their inaugural BBL playoff appearance.
