Berlin claims valuable road win at Chalon

Alba Berlin held on in a thrilling final minute to capture a valuable 82-87 road win over Elan Chalon at Le Colisee on Thursday evening. The win snapped Berlin’s four game losing streak and improved its record to 3-3. More importantly for Coach Saso Obradovic and co., the result dropped Chalon to 2-4 and gave Berlin the tiebreak advantage between them. In a game that was close throughout the first three quarters, Heiko Schaffartzik and Deon Thompson helped push Berlin to a 10-point fourth-quarter lead. However Chalon never quit and closed to within 2 later. But Berlin managed to hold on, made its free throws and snagged the victory. Yassin Idbihi led the Alba attack with 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Schaffartzik scored 13, Zach Morley tallied 11 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists, Vule Avdalovic accounted for 11 points and 6 assists, Dashaun Wood also scored 11 and Thompson finished with 10. Blake Schilb led Chalon with 21 points and 7 assists, Brion Rush also scored 21 and Ilian Evtimov added 13 in defeat.

First quarter: Rush’s hot hand lifts Chalon early

Chalon got off to a good start as Rush drilled a triple. Berlin looked to Albert Miralles inside, but the hosts were able to limit him. Shelden Williams boosted the lead to 7-3 before Thompson inside and Idbihi free throws evened the score. Evtimov nailed a three and Rush made a backdoor cut to put the hosts up 14-9. Evitmov’s second three extended the lead to 8 and caused Berlin coach Sasa Obradovic to use his first timeout. Thompson passed to Idbihi for a quick Berlin basket, however Chalon rolled on with another triple from Rush. Idbihi added two more baskets to trim the gap to 20-15 through one quarter.

Second quarter: Berlin battles back

Idbihi drew Berlin within 3 before Rush hit back with his third three of the night. Then Morley’s three-point play was matched by a Schilb triple. Alba kept fighting and soon closed the gap to a basket on a Thompson slam and a Nihad Djedovic jumper, but Evtimov answered quickly from downtown. Nonetheless Miralles soon drew the visitors within 29-28. Schaffartzik – with Alba’s first three of the night – gave his team its first lead. Miralles followed with a basket-plus-foul. Schilb scored 4 in a row to tie the score. Vule Avdalovic gave Berlin a 33-35 edge and after both teams missed some rushed shots in the final minute, the visitors took a 2-point edge into the locker room.

Third quarter: Chalon stays close and comes back to tie

JBAM evened things from the line, but DaShaun Wood restored an Alba edge with a three-pointer. Evtimov clawed Cholet within 1 and missed a three that would have given his team the lead. Instead Miralles inside and Wood outside made it 37-43. Free throws by JBAM and Steed Tchicamboud brought Chalon within 3. Avadalovic and Williams traded points before Nico Lang drew the hosts with 46-48. And after Idbihi scored, Lang connected from downtown to make it a 1-point game. Schaffartzik hit back for Alba, but Schilb’s pull-up jumper left the score knotted at 53-53 through three quarters.

Fourth quarter: Alba holds on in thrilling final minute

Schaffartzik led off the fourth quarter with a triple, but Williams responded with a basket-plus-foul. Another three from Schaffartzik followed by a Schaffartzik dish to Thompson for a tough basket made it 55-61 as Le Colisee fell silent. Morley extended the lead to 57-65, but a three by Rush and runner by Williams woke the fans up. However after a timeout, Wood finished a wild back-and-forth sequence with a basket and foul shot to make it 62-68 with five minutes to play. Idbihi hit a mid-range jumper and later followed his own miss in to give Alba its first double-digit lead. A pair of quick scored by Rush and Schilb closed it to 66-72 with less than three minutes to go. Thompson gave Alba plenty of breathing room with a tough basket in the paint on one end and a block on Kevin Houston at the other. Avdalovic free throws restored Berlin’s 10-point lead. With just over a minute to go, Houston and Tchicamboud combined to miss 3 of 4 free throws. Nevertheless, a steal by Rush and layup by Evitmov breathed life into the game at 72-78 with 54 seconds remaining. A poor inbounds pass allowed Schilb to knock down a three and close the gap to 77-80. Avdalovic made a pair of free throws with 33.1 seconds to go, but Rush nailed a triple to get within 80-82 with 18.6 remaining. Chalon was unable to steal the ball and instead fouled Schaffartzik, who made 2 free throws with 8.9 seconds left. Schilb scored quickly; Avdalovic returned to the line. He made just 1, but Schilb stepped out of bounds while grabbing the rebound and Morley iced the win with 1.9 seconds left.