Alba Berlin defeated visiting KK Bosna 141-127 after five overtimes

Alba Berlin needed five overtime periods before downing KK Bosna 141-127 at the Max Schmeling Hall in the German capital on Tuesday night. The game was the first five-overtime game in either the ULEB Cup or Euroleague all decade and set the record for most points scored in a ULEB Cup game. Bobby Brown led the way with 44 points – the second-most ever scored in the competition. Brown, who forced the first, fourth and fifth overtimes, was joined on the scoring chart by Julius Jenkins with 33 points, while Goran Nikolic posted a huge double-double of 31 points and 14 rebounds and Patrick Femerling had 18 points and 16 rebounds for Alba. Lance Williams had 34 points for Bosna, Kyle Hill added 26, Bryan Bailey 20 and Edin Bavcic 14. It looked like a normal game when Brown made free throws to tie the game at 71-71, sending it to overtime. Bavcic had a put-back basket to allow Bosna to take the game to a second overtime, 82-82. Free throws by Bryan Bailey of Bosna turned the game into a triple-overtime thriller, 97-97. Alba managed to stay alive on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Brown, 111-111, as the game went into a fourth overtime. Once again Brown made free throws at the end of the fourth extra period to force a fifth one, 122-122. Nikolic, who played a record 63 minutes, 40 seconds, had 5 points in a 9-0 run that allowed Alba to seal an historical win in already an instant classic.

Brown opened the scoring with a quick triple, but Bosna from the start was in the game with very mobile and aggressive defense, forcing several Alba turnovers. Bailey capped Bosna's 2-8 run with a fast break. Nikolic hit a mid-range jumper and two triples to put Alba back on top 16-12, before Williams and Bailey made it 16-15 at the end of the first quarter. Goran Ikonic hit Bosna's first triple, only to see Jenkins answer the same way. Then Nikolic and Ikonic swapped threes, but the end of the first half belonged to the centers: Patrick Femerling and Williams scored 4 points each to make it 37-36. Hill scored his first points to put Bosna ahead before Brown got hot with 8 straight points, including two triples, to put Alba ahead again 49-45. Bosna answered with a 0-6 run capped with a Bavcic steal and fast-break basket and Bosna held on for a 53-57 lead heading into the last period. Bosna's young point guard Muhamed Pasalic scored 4 points to give Bosna its the biggest lead, 53-62, but Nikolic brought Alba back with a three-point-play and a triple. Femerling tipped the ball in to make it 63-64. Bavcic hit a huge three-pointer to make it 65-69, but an unsportsmanlike foul by Williams and a missed shot by Hill gave Alba the chance to tie the game with free-throws and force overtime.

Three-pointers by Hill and Nikolic canceled each other out, as did points from Bavcic and Femerling, leading to a second extra period. Hill opened this time with a triple, which was answered by Jenkins. Brown took over with a drive and free-throws and Jenkins ran the fast-break to make it 91-87, but Hill answered with a triple and after several free-throws, the game was tied at 97-97 and went into a third overtime. With Femerling already out after his fifth foul, Williams had more space under the basket and he led Bosna with 7 points in a row to make it 99-104. However Brown and Jenkins answered for Alba, but Williams added 4 more points and Hill with 7 seconds on the clock hit two free-throws for a 108-111 lead. But the 7 remaining seconds were enough for Bobby Brown to force a fourth overtime at 111-111 with a huge triple. Hill and Williams put Bosna ahead 111-114 and Pasalic added a triple, but Bobby Brown with 5 points cut the gap to 116-117. Williams took Bosna to 116-121, but this was not the end, as Brown and Jenkins managed to tie the score again before the siren, 122-122. After Jenkins's fifth foul, Alba was in serious foul trouble with only five players left, including Dragan Dojcin, who was still not full recovered from his injury, and youth center Philip Heyden in his first ULEB Cup appearance. Bosna tried a zone defense, which Brown instantly punished for his next triple. Hill came back with free throws, but then Bosna, also experiencing heavy foul trouble with only five players left, ran out of gas and Brown led a 14-0 run, crowned by Heyden's dunk to finish off the instant classic, 141-126.