The Niners Chemnitz basketball team have missed out on reaching the final of the German championship for the first time. The charges of Head Coach Rodrigo Pastore lost the fifth and deciding semi-final duel in the best-of-five series at Alba Berlin by 84:97 (53:48) on Thursday. The club from Saxony had led 2:1 in the series, but was unable to capitalize on its chance.
The Albatrosses will now play FC Bayern Munich for the title. The first game will be played in the Bavarian capital on Saturday at 8.30 pm. Matt Thomas (24) and Malte Delow (17) played the biggest part in the hosts' success. Kevin Yebo and Jeff Garrett (16 each) scored the most points for the Niners.
The club from Chemnitz initially got off to a good start in front of Berlin's basketball world champions Moritz and Franz Wagner and was 16:11 ahead after six minutes. The home side produced a 16:2 run to move 27:18 in front in the 9th minute. However, the club from Saxony struck back and turned a 35:40 deficit (14th minute) into a 50:40 lead (18th minute).
The home side nevertheless went into the final quarter with a narrow 74:73 advantage. Chemnitz was 80:78 in front again in the 35th minute. However, the Albatrosses displayed all their cleverness in the final spell and went on to win by ten points in a row (88:80 in the 37th minute).
The home side benefited first and foremost from its supremacy under the basket (38:29 rebounds) and its better three-point percentage. Twelve of their 28 attempts from beyond the arc landed in Chemnitz's basket. The Niners were only able to convert ten of their 31 shots.
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