Fenerbahce vs Alba Berlin

In the last five games, Fenerbahce has five wins out of which they lost one game to Partizan in Belgrade. In as many as 19 games int he EuroLeague season, the Turkish Airlines Sports Club is 11-7. Since their match against Paris was postponed they have only played one game fewer than most other teams.

This season Fenerbahce has had relatively good game and its performance in the Turkish Super League, maybe slightly worse in EuroLeague. But their performances look more pleasing than what they have been playing and yet the team spirit does not look quite alright. These successes have been achieved despite certifiable problems in two vital posts.

The current competitiveness issue in the middle position is just so mediocre and could not match the status of an organization like Fenerbahce. Boban Marjanovic as a short-term fix, Khem Birch’s contract was extended because there are no better options even though there is disappointment with him too. Another issue of concern is the issue of point guard position.

Standings favorites Arturs Zagars and Scottie Wilbekin are both sidelined due to injuries which creates problem for the team. In addition to that, a player namely Wade Baldwin appears not to enjoy the place of the team hence making the future of becoming a key member of the team uncertain.

However, in other aspects, Fenerbahçe is terrific especially in place with Nigel Hayes-Davis, who is one of the outstanding players in this season’s EuroLeague. Furthermore, free-throw shooting is a strong point of their team since they shoot third-pointers most in this year’s league.

Additionally, Fenerbahce will be considered as a favorite of this meeting with the guests from Berlin. If so, they will only have to provide a reasonable performance to win easily, for their counterparts are unlikely to have the means to put up a fight.

Alba Berlin has been unbelievably poor recently, the team participates in both EuroLeague and Bundesliga and has played 15 games combined in the past two months only winning 3 of them. Finally, one of those victories took place in the last match, again a home match against Bayern in the Bundesliga. Alba Berlin’s records the following statistics in EuroLeague with 3 wins and 16 losses.

Alba Berlin has had arguably one of its worse seasons in recent past. The team has never been a powerhouse in the EuroLeague, and while they would usually struggle in their domestic competition, the Bundesliga, this season was catastrophic by any standards. They’ve recorded only five victories in the 13 games played, which has put them in the 15th position in the whole of the German league tier. Observing Alba Berlin this season has been painful, especially when injuries limited their roster to a team that looks far from EuroCup level, let alone EuroLeague.

To this, many have questioned whether they should hold a rightful place in the EuroLeague, but as it stands they are part of the competition with no signs of them being relegated anytime soon.Alfa Berlin is by far one of the worst performing teams in the EuroLeague. Barely scoring seven three-pointers per game overall and shooting well over the 29% three-point field goal percentage, being the most turnover-prone team in the competition, and boasting of the worst offense in the league by a healthy margin.

It is a tad better there, but they still have the worst defense in the EuroLeague while not as far from the second worst as you might think. As it befits a club with such nickname, Alba Berlin retains its preference for an up-tempo style and paces the league in that category. Their only strength can be said to be their rebounding where they stand at number eight in the league.

Alba Berlin would need to perform a basketball miracle to defeat Fenerbahce, who are a far better squad overall. This is particularly true when it comes to three-point shooting and perimeter defense, when Alba Berlin suffers greatly in terms of both shooting accuracy and giving up large percentages to opponents. Fenerbahce is quite good at these things, which makes the odds even more in their favor.

Fenerbahçe continues to win the majority of their games in spite of the difficulties they and their head coach Sarunas Jasikevicius are facing. In this matchup, we think this tendency will continue. Alba Berlin is much inferior than the hosts and does not have the caliber to compete successfully.