Trier saw off ALBA Berlin 95:75 in the BBL on Saturday evening, a result that catches the eye and raises questions about form. We had backed the visitors with 61 per cent confidence — and here's the thing, we were wrong. The hosts dominated from tip-off, and ALBA's away campaign looks precarious.
I watched the whole match, but my attention kept drifting to the twenty-minute mark. That's when Trier pulled away, and by then it was clear ALBA had no answer. The visitors could not contain the home side's tempo, and the crowd roared them on. ALBA refused to go away, but their shooting went cold at the worst moment.
Looking at the recent form, both sides had mixed results coming in. Trier had lost to Braunschweig 116-107 but bounced back with three straight wins. ALBA's 110-86 victory over Slavia Prague looked promising, yet they faltered against Bayern and Bamberk. The table goes out of the window in these games — and Trier proved it.
To be fair, ALBA showed character in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to twelve points. But Trier can raise the tempo when they need to, and they did just that. The visitors gave up the ball and hit them on the break, and the margin swelled. ALBA's defence looked disjointed, and their coach had no solution.
By the final buzzer, the 20-point gap told the story. Trier's shooting accuracy was clinical, while ALBA's turnovers proved costly. This result means Trier sit comfortably in the top half of the table, while ALBA face a crucial run of fixtures. The visitors cannot afford another away defeat — or their season could unravel.
