Alba Berlin had some problems at first, but managed to build a double-digit lead and manage it in the second half of the game to defeat PGE Turow at home on Tuesday night 79-68. The win allows Alba to stay undefeated at the top of Group H with a perfect 3-0 record, while PGE Turow drops to 1-2, tied with Dexia Mons and Buducnost for second place. Bryce Taylor led the winners with 14 points, Derrick Allen added 13, Dashaun Wood 12 and Marko Simonovic 11. For Turow, Daniel Kickert had 16 points, David Jackson 14 and John Edwards chipped in with 10.
The duel started balanced as a daring PGE Turow even managed to take on the lead a couple times, 4-5 after Aaron Cel's layup. However, hosting Alba started
to gather some steam and Derrick Allen led the charge with 7 points in the period. He had a three-point play to put Alba ahead at 7-6 and then Torin Francis
had his own four straight points to start opening the gap. Sven Schultze's last three closed the first period at 17-10 as Turow was struggling with the field
goals inside and outside the paint. In the second period, Alba controlled the tempo of the game as well this time led by Yassin Idbihi. With the 22-12 came
the double-digit leads for the hosts while Turow, despite working well in rebounds, was still lacking in shooting percentage, 8 of 24 from two-point range,
and was surviving off three triples at that point. John Edwards was trying to lead the guests back into the game and finally, David Jackson suceeded with a
three-point play for Turow to make it 34-27 at the break.
Both teams exchanged baskets in the first plays of the second half as Konrad Wysocki posted a three for Turow, 38-32. Dashaun Wood soon copied him for Alba, sparking a 9-0 burst capped by allen making it 47-32. Giedrius Gustas had his own three for Turow, while Jackson was still the main man in offense for the guests. However, Marko Simonovic helped Alba maintain the double-digit lead throughout the third quarter for a 56-45 Alba lead after 30 minutes with Schultze's three. In the first plays of the last period, Turow managed to trim the deficit down to single digits a couple of times, but Alba was always back at the right moment to make sure that nothing serious happened. Simonovic and Taylor chained five points for 67-53 and then Daniel Kickert replied fast for Turow, but Taylor killed it all again with a new three, 70-59. That was the trend until the final buzzer as Alba managed the lead with no problems and cruised for the final win, ready to face Turow again next week, this time in Poland.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Eurocupbasketball.com