Marburg Faces tough Test Against Alba Berlin After Historic comeback
marburg, Germany – BC Pharmaserv Marburg will host Alba Berlin this weekend, riding high on momentum from a historic comeback win against Herne while facing a team predicted to dominate this season. Despite preseason expectations favoring Alba Berlin, last year’s semi-finalist, and Marburg as a potential playoff miss, the teams currently hold records of 3-0 and 1-2 respectively.
This will be the seventh meeting between the two clubs, with Alba Berlin holding a 6-0 record in prior matchups. Marburg is enjoying its best start to a season since 2018, fueled by last Saturday’s remarkable 17-point halftime comeback in Herne – a feat unmatched by a Marburg first division team since 1992.
Alba Berlin secured their sole win thus far at home against herne, a close 70-64 victory. key players for Berlin include Tessa Stammberger (10.5 points), Lena Gohlisch (8.5 points, 3.5 assists), and potentially Deeshyra Thomas (13 points, 4 assists, if fit). The team also features recent college graduates Jo Raflo and Abby Muse.
Notably, two Alba Berlin players previously played for Marburg: Marie Bertholdt (157 games for Marburg from 2017-2023) and theresa Simon (105 games for Marburg from 2019-2023). Bertholdt currently averages 10 points and 6 rebounds in 22.5 minutes, while Simon contributes 5 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists in just under 19 minutes.
Marburg coach José Araújo anticipates a challenging game. “Against Berlin it will be a completely different game than in Herne. They play a different kind of basketball: a very good defense, and on offense they play very controlled and know exactly what they have to do. Berlin has a good mix of young and experienced as well as good foreign players. There is a lot to consider. under no circumstances should we make the mistakes from the first half in Herne [33:50-Rückstand] repeat and play without concentration. Herne made good use of that. But we can’t afford something like that. I don’t think we could get our fourth win in a row.Of course I want to win, but it’s just about collecting as many wins as possible and not about any series. It will definitely be a good game to watch.I hope that a lot of people come to the hall because the support of our fans helps us a lot.”
