In front of a 4.100 people crowd in Frankfurt, OPEL SKYLINERS lost their first semi-final match against current German champion Alba Berlin. Marcus Goree was Frankfurts top-scorer with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
From the beginning, both teams faced a tight game. The defense was hard on both sides and didn't allow easy scores for either teams. Berlin acted a bit smarter. Berlins guard Derrick Phelps was Berlins most important player in the first half and lead his team to a 43:38 half-time score.
In quarter three, Marcus Goree marked Frankfurts first lead in the 27th minute by slam dunk. The quarter ended 63:56 for the OPEL SKYLINERS.
During the last period, both teams hat to face foul trouble. Berlin answered Frankfurts lead with a 10-1 run. Mithat Demirel marked the pre decisive 70-78 lead for Berlin by a three pointer. Frankfurt fought hard but couldn't avoid the final 76:85 loss.
OPEL SKYLINERS Headcoach Gordon Herbert: "ALBA decided the game when they stopped our run in the third quarter. In addition, they made a lot of important shots. A deciding factor for Berlins win was Derrick Phelps. Maybe we just played to much over Marcus Goree. We also missed to many foul shots."
ALBA Berlin Coach Emir Mutapcic: "My team displayed a lot of character when we came back after the third quarter. Another factor was of course that Frankfurt missed a lot of shots from out range."
The quarters: 20:25 20:18 25:13 13:29
