2020-21Regular SeasonRound 21
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 77
ALBA Berlin 84
January 22, 2021 CET: 21:00
Local time: 21:00 BUESA ARENA

ALBA gets first win at Buesa Arena

ALBA Berlin snapped a three-game losing streak by downing TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz 77-84 at Buesa Arena on Friday. ALBA improved to 8-13 in the standings while Baskonia dropped to 9-12. Marcus Eriksson hit a buzzer-beating triple to give ALBA a 18-21 lead after 10 minutes. Achille Polonara and Rokas Giedraitis stepped up after that, allowing Baskonia to get a 50-46 lead at halftime. Eriksson and Simone Fontecchio fueled a 0-12 run that put ALBA in charge, 61-67, at the end of the third quarter. Baskonia managed to get within 71-74 but Eriksson scored in penetration and Maodo Lo buried a three-pointer that made ALBA cruise to a well-deserved win. Peyton Siva led the winners with 14 points. Lo and Eriksson each added 13 while Eriksson had 11 for ALBA. Polonara led Baskonia with 23 points while Luca Vildoza and Giedraitis each added 10.


Fontecchio got ALBA going with a layup, and got help from Lammers and Jayson Granger to give the guests a 2-9 lead. Giedraitis, Polonara and Zoran Dragic each struck from downtown to tie it at 11-11. Polonara bettered Eriksson's jumper with a triple to give Baskonia its first lead, 14-13. Siva joined the three-point shootout, added a coast-to-coast layup and fed Eriksson for a corner triple that gave ALBA a 18-21 lead after 10 minutes. Tim Schneider struck from beyond the arc early in the second quarter. Dragic stepped up with 5 quick points, Polonara buried a triple and Tadas Sedekerskis added a three-point play for a 29-27 Baskonia lead. Louis Olinde erased Polonara's layup with a dunk and Lo sank a three-pointer to make ALBA regain a 31-32 lead. Pierria Henry scored in penetration and found Sedekerskis for another three-point play. Siva insisted from downtown but Giedraitis hit a floater and a triple in a 7-0 run highlighted by Polonara's slam. Alec Peters hit his first three-pointer and Vildoza scored off a steal, but Siva and Fontecchio kept ALBA within 50-46 at halftime. Granger took over with a backdoor layup soon after the break and Luke Sikma added a triple for a 50-51 ALBA lead. Henry and Peters rescued Baskonia but Eriksson and Fontecchio fueled a 0-12 run that Johannes Thiemann capped with a three-pointer for a 54-63 ALBA lead. Sedekerskis scored down low and Vildoza added a layup and a three-pointer to give Baskonia hope, 61-67, after 30 minutes. Arturs Kurucs and Polonara each buried a triple to get Baskonia within 67-69 early in the fourth quarter. Lammers buried back-to-back jumpers and added an alley-oop slam to restore a 69-75 ALBA lead. Eriksson hit a one-handed floater which Polonara bettered with a three-point play. Giedraitis added a reverse layup that made the guests call timeout, 74-77, with 2 minutes left. Eriksson slashed for a layup and Lo buried a critical three-pointer that sealed the outcome, 74-82, as Baskonia never recovered.

Pivotal performer

Jayson Granger had an all-round game against his former team, making sure that ALBA was in a good position to win the game. He finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 8 assists and 4 steals - matching his personal-best - for a team-high PIR of 17.

Game-changing moment

Baskonia led 54-51 midway through the third quarter but Marcus Eriksson hit a floater and Simone Fontecchio added a close basket and a three-pointer in a 0-12 run which Johannes Thiemann capped with his own shot from downtown. ALBA got a 54-63 lead and managed it well until the final buzzer.

Stellar stat

ALBA outrebounded Baskonia by 30-39 and shot the ball much better, in general terms. ALBA hit 18-of-32 two-pointers (56.3%) and 13-of-28 shots from downtown (46.4%), keeping Baskonia to much lower percentages (47.5% 2FG, 35.5% 3FG).

Did you know?

It was ALBA's first win against Baskonia at Buesa Arena. Baskonia had previously beaten ALBA at home three times - 94-81 in 2004 with 28 points from Arvydas Macijauskas, 106-65 in 2008 behind 27 points from Igor Rakocevic, and 73-72 last season, when Toko Shengelia had 24 points.

Next game

Both teams return to action next week - on Wednesday, January 27. ALBA welcomes CSKA Moscow at 20:00 CET. A little bit later, at 20:45 CET, Baskonia visits LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne, where Tonye Jekiri will play against his former team.

Peyton Siva - ALBA Berlin - EB20
Friday, January 22, 2021
Euroleague.net
Referees: RYZHYK, BORYS; VILIUS, GYTIS; ISGUDER, SINAN
Attendance: 0
By Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz18321116
ALBA Berlin21252117
End of Quarter1234
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz18506177
ALBA Berlin21466784
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
2 RAIESTE, SANDER DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
3 VILDOZA, LUCA 28:39 10 2/4 2/9     1 1 4 4 3     3 3 7
5 JEKIRI, TONYE 4:58 2 1/2     1   1     2     1   -1
7 HENRY, PIERRIA 25:57 6 3/6 0/2   2 4 6 9 3 3     4 1 13
8 SEDEKERSKIS, TADAS 23:14 8 3/4   2/2   3 3 2 3 1     1 2 15
12 DIOP, ILIMANE 1:16                   1     2   -3
19 FALL, YOUSSOUPHA DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
25 PETERS, ALEC 26:24 7 2/4 1/5   5   5 2 1 1     2 2 8
30 DRAGIC, ZORAN 17:32 8 1/3 1/2 3/5       1   3     2 4 3
31 GIEDRAITIS, ROKAS 29:07 10 2/5 2/6     1 1       1 1   1 5
33 POLONARA, ACHILLE 36:46 23 5/12 4/5 1/1 3 6 9 1 3 1   2 2 4 27
47 KURUCS, ARTURS 6:07 3   1/2     1 1 2         2   3
Team             3 3     2         1
Totals 200:00 77 19/40 11/31 6/8 11 19 30 21 14 17 1 3 19 17 78
        47.5% 35.5% 75%
Head coach: IVANOVIC, DUSKO
Min: Minutes played; Pts: Points; 2FG M-A: 2-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); 3FG M-A: 3-point Field Goals (Made-Attempted); FT M-A: Free Throws (Made-Attempted); Rebounds: O (Offensive), D (Defensive), T (Total); As: Assists; St: Steals; To: Turnovers; Bl: Blocks (Fv: In Favor / Ag: Against); Fouls: Cm (Commited), Rv (Received); PIR: Performance Index Rating
ALBA Berlin
  Rebounds Blocks Fouls
# Player Min Pts 2FG 3FG FT O D T As St To Fv Ag Cm Rv PIR
0 LO, MAODO 16:16 13 2/2 3/5     3 3 1   3     3 1 10
3 SIVA, PEYTON 16:31 14 2/3 2/7 4/5   1 1 2   1     2 4 11
8 ERIKSSON, MARCUS 22:59 11 4/4 1/4     4 4     1         11
9 MATTISSECK, JONAS 3:00                 1 1     1   -1
10 SCHNEIDER, TIM 14:33 6 0/1 1/2 3/4   1 1             2 6
16 NIKIC, KRESIMIR DNP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
19 OLINDE, LOUIS 12:17 2 1/4     2 2 4           3 1 1
20 FONTECCHIO, SIMONE 23:58 13 2/5 3/4           1 3 1 1     7
32 THIEMANN, JOHANNES 21:01 5   1/1 2/4 2 4 6 3   4     3 4 9
33 GRANGER, JAYSON 24:59 7 2/3 1/4   1 3 4 8 4 3     2 3 17
43 SIKMA, LUKE 25:27 3 0/3 1/1   2 6 8 6   5     1 4 12
50 LAMMERS, BEN 18:59 10 5/7       2 2   1 1 2   2   10
Team           3 3 6               6
Totals 200:00 84 18/32 13/28 9/13 10 29 39 20 7 22 3 1 17 19 99
        56.3% 46.4% 69.2%
Head coach: GONZALEZ, ISRAEL

Head Coaches

IVANOVIC, DUSKO
TD Systems Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz

"We lost a chance to win the game but the way we played, it was very difficult. We had a lead in the first half but not thanks to our defense. We hit shots and played well on offense but before we played I had it clear, and I hope my players did, too, that our way to win was defense. When we stopped on offense, we didn't play defense and probably the third quarter in which we only had one assist and eight turnovers marked the rhythm of the game. I didn't try everything. I didn't play Yous [Youssoupha Fall], but against a team that all of its '4s' and '5s' are shooters, it was very difficult to play him and for that reason, we had to play with a small lineup. They open the court really well and are good shooters. I am worried, because we have less games ahead of us and more difficulties to make it to the playoffs. We want to be there and will fight until the final moment but each game we lose makes it much more difficult."

GONZALEZ, ISRAEL

ALBA Berlin Assistant Coach

"I think we defended pretty well in the second half. We fought a lot, and could dominate our defensive rebounds after having problems in the first half. We had less turnovers and a lot of faith in our offense. And we played like a team. I am proud and happy for my team, for my players. It is one more win in the way we have to do this year. We have to improve and keep doing things better every day, every time. This is our goal in the EuroLeague and we are happy that we took a step forwards today."

"In the second half we managed to not to make so many turnovers, which lowered their scoring numbers. We had a lot more possessions than in the first half. On offense, we found our rhythm, playing as a team, passing the ball. Our goal is not to come to Vitoria and win, but to play better every day, try to improve and use the EuroLeague to help our players grow, learning from the great teams that we play against. We won and have to be very happy - it is a sign that what we are doing, we are doing well."

Players

SIVA, PEYTON
ALBA Berlin
"They are a well-coached team. It is very good for us to go out there and get a victory. We lost a couple in the EuroLeague, so it was good to go out there and win. The guys out there trust our teammates. Those guys played really hard, made tough shots at the end. I am just glad that we had a chance to beat Rokas [former teammate Giedraitis]."
GRANGER, JAYSON
ALBA Berlin
"I feel great! I am freaking proud of these guys! It is a great feeling. It is never easy to play on the court. I played here for three years, so I know how difficult it is to play here [as the away team]. I am so proud of this team, of this family. We have some main guys back from injuries like Peyton [Siva], Marcus [Eriksson], Luke [Sikma]. They did a great job and I think it was a big win for us. We stepped up in the second half, especially defensively. We controlled the defensive board and didn't let them take open shots like we allowed in the first half, and I think that was the key of the game."