Zylka rallies ALBA to semis with stunning OT win

ALBA Berlin staged an incredible comeback to beat Vaerlose 77-81 in overtime and secure a berth in the semifinals of the ADIDAS NEXT GENERATION TOURNAMENT Belgrade qualifier by finishing second in Group A. ALBA came back from an eight-point deficit with 1:19 minutes left in regulation, forcing the extra session on a tip-in by Moritz Wagner on the buzzer after an intentionally missed free throw. In overtime, Ferdinand Zylka nailed three three-pointers and the game-deciding free throws with two seconds to play as ALBA Berlin finished 2-1 in the group. Zylka nailed seven three-pointers in total for 32 points while Wagner had 14 points, five rebounds and four steals. Lukas Wank finished with 12 points for ALBA and Tim Schneider added 10 points. Vaerlose ended Group A in third at 1-2 despite a triple-double by August Haas with 15 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists while also grabbing three steals. Jacob Larsen scored 13 points in the loss and Kasper Christiansen added 12 points.

Larsen opened the game with a score and Haas’s free throw had Vaerlose up 3-0. The Danish team pushed the lead to 11-4 on a dunk and three-point play by Larsen and a three-pointer from Asbjorn Nerlov. Two dunks by Schneider brought ALBA to within 13-8 but the score was 18-8 after a three-ball from Martin Poulsen. ALBA cut the margin down to 18-14 with a Zylka three-pointer. Vaerlose was up 20-14 after 10 minutes. Vaerlose struggled offensively at the start of the second quarter and ALBA was able to even the game at 20-20 on a basket by Lars Lagerpusch. Christiansen finally put Vaerlose on the scoreboard with a three-point play with 4:17 minutes left in the first half. ALBA took its first lead 25-26 on two free throws by Wank. Vaerlose went back ahead on a Henrik Pedersen basket 27-26 and was up 33-30 at the break.

Vaerlose got a Christiansen dunk and Haas three-pointer in starting the second half on a 6-0 run for a 39-30 lead. Wagner answered with back-to-back baskets but a 7-0 Vaerlose spurt including a three-ball from Aske Flensted had the Danish side up 50-36. ALBA scored the final four points of the third quarter to trail 50-40 after 30 minutes. The gap was down to 50-46 after baskets by Wank and Julius During. Pedersen’s basket had Vaerlose back up by eight points 54-46 but Zylka’s three-ball brought the German club to within 54-53. The margin was 61-53 after Nerlov’s basket with 1:19 minutes left. But Zykla nailed two three-pointers to make it 64-61. Trailing 64-61 with one second left Zykla was fouled and made the first free throw. He missed the second foul shot and Wagner was there to tip it in to force overtime.

Zykla opened the extra session with another three-ball and the ALBA lead was 66-71 following a Schneider layup. Christiansen answered with a three-ball and then evened the game at 71-71 with two free throws. Zykla nailed two more three-pointers as ALBA was up 75-79 with 19 seconds left. And then after Nerlov made two free throws with three seconds left to make it 77-79, Zykla nailed two foul shots with two seconds left to ice the game.