Here we go with more finals coverage from various European leagues still going on. The time for champs to be crowned comes ever closer in most countries…
In Germany, Telekom Baskets Bonn had their first game in their brand new arena tonight, and spurred on by more than 6000 fans, the Baskets beat ALBA Berlin behind great efforts from Ronnie Burrell and Miah Davis. The athletic forward who played for Cologne last season scored 21 and gratified the fans with some spectacular dunks.
The player that has emerged in these playoffs, however, is Bernd Kruel. The center, who answers to the nickname “The Stork,” took over the starting job from John “Big” Bowler, who was injured against Frankfurt. Kruel once again did an amazing job in the paint tonight, with his 5 offensive rebounds and 10 points the result of the Bonn player’s hustling playing style.
The basket of the day was scored by former Chicago Bull Eddie Basden, who knocked down a hook shot from 8 meters as the 24-second clock expired. The series now goes back to Berlin, with Bonn management having organzied a special train to carry 900 fans. It might have been more, but this train is already of the maximum length legally allowed on German railways.
In Italy, it looked as though everything was already said and done, but Lottomatica Roma managed to win at home against Montepaschi Siena and close the series gap to 3-1. Roko Leni-Ukic came up with his best performance of the playoffs so far with 12 points, but the main man for Virtus was Ibrahim Jaaber. The guard scored in every conceivable fashion and was nearly perfect with 10 baskets of 11 attempts for 22 points in just 24 minutes of action.
And to maintain any semblance of drama in this series, David “the Hawk” Hawkins needs to produce some more plays like this one:
In Croatia, KK Zadar won the championship in their famous Jazine Hall after a 3-2 playoff win over KK Split, who had eliminated favored Cibona Zagreb in the semis. The decisive game in Zadar was dominated by the locals in an incredible atmosphere, 89-65. Andrej Stimac and Julius Johnson were the main men for the locals and made possible the debut of the all-night party in the streets of the Dalmatian city. Enjoy the last few minutes from Jazine.
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