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Obradović: the final must be handled by the best referees

Alba's coach was not pleased with the refereeing in the first game, pointing out that the refs did not use the same criteria for both teams. The Bavarian team shot 50 free throws, while Alba got only 22.

Bayern opened the final series of the Bundesliga with a win, but the team from Bavaria had the referees on their side once again. To remind you, they had to play the Ludwigsburg game from the first round of the playoff again, when the referees pushed the Munich team to victory with their disastrous decisions, and the men in black once again impacted the game on Sunday. Alba got off to a great start. Carried by the excellent Reggie Redding they got a 21-8 lead, but Bayern pulled back with a 7-0 series of their own, and managed to reduce their lag to just 6 points at end of the first quarter.

The second quarter was fully Bavarian, that part of the match they won 20-9. In the second par the Berlin team lost the feeling on offense, especially for three points. They did not hit a three pointer up to the end of third quarter (0/10). Bayer, in the mean time, took off to an 18 point lead, and the game was more or less decided. The team from Berlin managed to close the gap to -7 in the final segment, and that was the closest they got.

We should point out that the Bavarians got 50 free throws, (39 made), while Alba shot only 22. It is hard to explain such a disparity in a finals game with anything else but refereeing. Numerous Alba players (Kendall, Hammonds, Redding) got into foul trouble, which naturally influenced the game.

- Never in my career have I seen one team get that many free throws. There have certainly been plenty of fouls to be called, but some were completely uncalled for. We will learn from this defeat and react differently in the next game-  pointed out coach Obradović, who would like to see the experienced Robert Lottermoser as the main referee today:

- He makes mistakes, just like everyone else, but he always has the game under control. The final must be adjudicated by the best referees. I don't usually talk about the referees, but in the first game their criterion was not the same for both teams.

The Serbian expert already pointed out several times that Redding is his key player, and this was confirmed. He scored 22 points in 31 minutes (8/17 shooting), and also had 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Center Leon Radošević had his best performance of the playoffs with 14 points (5/6 shooting). David Logan underperformed (3/8), and guard Hammonds had the same shooting from the field. Statistically speaking, Alba did not play a bad game at all, winning the rebounding duel, with 14 offensive rebounds getting her 68 shots. The Berlin team als had more assists, 8 steals and 5 less turnovers than their opponents.

Alba are known for their aggressive defense, and one can hardly expect the referees to have the same criteria today as they had in the first match. The team from Berlin very rarely lose in their own arena. The O2 World arena saw them lose only twice this season, in all their competitions. Back at the start of the season they did well against the Bavarian team, who still had Nihad Đedović back then. He will not be appearing in the final as the Bosnian got seriously injured, ending this season, and the same goes for young Paul Zipser.

- We had a good start on Sunday, but some calls from the referees made us lose focus, forget our game plan, make bad decisions and miss important free throws. We cannot react to provocation today, we need to stay mentally strong throughout the game. If we are to win, we cannot have such ups and downs- pointed out Obradović, who was allegedly wanted by Brose as a coach.

Bayern would definitely have had a much more difficult task in the first game had the referees not called any contact as a foul. Point guard Malcolm Delaney really struggled against Hammonds, the best defensive player of the league. He shot 3/8 from the game, but 8/8 from the free throw line. Bryce Taylor also score 15 with 10/12 from the free throw line. Among double digit scorers were also Schaffartzik (12) and center John
Bryant (11). Coach Svetislav Pešić obviously lost faith in his shooting guard Lucca Steiger, who did not enter at all. Schaffartzik played 33
minute, longest on the team. Power forward Deon Thompson performed poorly (3/7
field goal for 8 points).

- The game started off very intensely, as expected. I have to congratulate all the players as the opponents were very good. It took us a while to get used to Alba's tough defense- pointed out Pešić, and spoke of today's game:

- 2-0 would be much better than 1-1, but Alba are always a favorite at home. We have to stay cool-headed and focus on our game.

Speaking of today's game, Alba's coach Saša Obradović said he'd prefer the chief referee tonight to be Robert Lottermoser, one of the best German referees. A slightly unusual statement, but logical given that the criterioon referees used in the first game was anything but fair. Anyone who saw that game could see that the Berlin team were called for a foul on any contact, which gave Bayern 50 free throws, as opposed to 22 by Alba. Realistically speaking, it's impossible to win a game in which the opponent gets 28 more free throws. Had the figure been lower, I'm convinced that Alba would be in the game to the end. We can expect the refs to do better today. They can hardly maintain the same criteria in Berlin, which should allow Alba to play a more aggressive defense. Bayern played four away game in this playoff, and dominated only one (Ludwigsburg). The last one they decisively lost in Oldenburg, and it's common knowledge how hard it is to beat Alba in Berlin (2 defeats all season long). 13 000 are fans expected to cheer for Alba in the O2 World arena, where Bayern already got hurt bad once this season, although back then they had Nihad Đedović for whom the season is now over.