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Roma have a tough run of games

Roma haven't been to exciting, but the fact is that their list of fixtures is very tiring. Now they're up against a disciplined German team that still haven't lost

Roma are playing their seventh game in two and a half weeks. Coach Dalmonte has been saying for a while that they are not completely prepared, which is why defeat the against Avellino is not surprising, and even though they had a chance to surprise the hosts near the end, it ended 84-82 in favor of Avellino.

They opened the game very well and were up during the whole quarter, but they hit a black run in which they lost 23-12 and were down by 7 on halftime. After the break, they didn't manage to come closer, but on the contrary, Avellino got a double-digit lead and they only woke up in the last 5 minutes when they started to catch up. However, they came to -2 during the final moments of the last minute, but the points stayed in Avellino.

Despite his team's defeat, Dalmonte wasn't unhappy with his team's performance:

- We started the game in good rhythm, but we became too hasty later on. In the end, we had to power to catch the minimal lag behind, but we allowed some crucial points that should not have happened. Had we managed to defend those, things could have gone differently, but Avellino is a strong team and I am happy in the end.

The shortness of Dalmote's rotation was visible once more - Goss, Taylor and Ignerski spent over 30 minutes on the court, while Hosley and Baron played for 28 minutes. It is logical that they were the best players - Goss with 18 points, Ignerski  with 16, and Taylor with 12 points and 5 assists. 

Dalmonte announced the upcoming game:

- We are playing against one of the strongest teams, not only in our group, but the entire competition. German basketball is improving so fast and Alba are a technically very gifted team and they have the physique. They could take part in the Euroleague. They have very good defense and many solutions in offense which is why we have to be very concentrated.

The guests from Germany have traveled to Rome with the intent of extending their positive run to six games, but they can play without too much pressure after opening the Eurocup with 2 wins. After managing to get a win against Zaragoza, they had a much easier task against Mitteldeutscher in Bundesliga. This was the first time for Sasa Obradovic to give more playing time to second-team players, even though things weren't as easy as the end result would suggest. The opponents were close behind them  until the last quarter in which Alba got a bigger run and ensured their win.

- After the tough game against Zaragoza we didn't have the same amount of energy against MBC. We lost a lot of balls that prevented us from ending the game earlier. But, we are still in the process of improvement and my players need time - said Obradovic. 

Clifford Hammonds played the best game of the season (16 points), as did Reggie Redding (16 p) who showed that his form is improving. The key shooter David Logan was better in defense than offense but still managed to score 14 points. Center Jonas Wohlfahrt-Bottermann wasn't as successful (5 p), a player that should be the real replacement for the injured Leon Radosevic. The Canadian player Levon Kendall was much better than Bottermann  in the paint with 15 points and 8 rebounds.

Overall, the Berlin team weren't too great but they got a routine win. They had the most problems against the smaller teams last year. That is not the case in this season. Alba seem much more organized even though they changed their entire team.

Now they are facing Roma, a team Obradovic used to play for.

- Having played for Roma from 1997 to 1999 makes this away game very emotional for me. In my opinion, even though Datome left, Roma have a much stronger roster than last year and are one of the group favorites. A win here would be very hard - said the Serbian expert.

The odds for Alba are going up, even though that doesn't make much sense. Alba are basically a Euroleague team - they're tough, especially when it comes to backcourt positions lead by Clff Hammonds. The point guard position used to always make the difference for Roma so far, especially thanks to Jordan Taylor's pick play. They won the games against teams that weren't too aggressive, but Alba are nothing like that. Roma's backcourt is best in offense, Taylor especially, but Baron and Goss as well. Alba will have to do without Radosevic, which is a disadvantage, especially when defending the pick. But, Wohlfarth proved to be a good substitute for Radosevic so that shouldn't cause any problems. On top of all of that, Alba's shooting efficiency is improving, Logan proved to be great, Redding as well in the last round. Let's not forget this Roma's fourth game in nine days, and substitutes D'Ercole, Moraschini, and Mbakwe are simply not at Alba's, or Europcup level for that matter.