Cazoo Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz kept alive its hopes of reaching the post-season after a hard-fought 93-87 home win over ALBA Berlin thanks to huge performances from Maik Kotsar and Darius Thompson, who paced the Spanish side against a spirited opponent which nearly staged a second successive upset. Estonian center Kotsar produced a career-high of 23 points and 10 rebounds for a PIR of 40, while Thompson racked up 21 points and 11 assists for a PIR of 38, on the back of a flawless fourth quarter when Baskonia fired on all cylinders.
Baskonia stays in the hunt after beating ALBA, 93-87

Markus Howard endured another tough night, shooting 2-of-10 from the floor for 11 points after he netted only 3 in the previous round’s defeat at Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, while Vanja Marinkovic turned out to be Baskonia’s trump card as he netted 15 points – 9 of them in the first quarter after he came off the bench. The result lifted Baskonia's record to 16-15 to remain in eighth place.
ALBA, which stunned reigning champion Anadolu Efes Istanbul 95-93 in Round 31, had seven scorers in double figures against Baskonia but the German team’s effort fell just short this time as the hosts had more gas left in the tank down the stretch. Maodo Lo paced the visitors with 15 points, Yanni Wetzell had 13, while Tamir Blatt and Gabriele Procida chipped in with 11 each. Jaleen Smith, Louis Olinde and Luke Sikma scored 10 points apiece for the visitors.
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Baskonia made the brighter start in the fast-flowing encounter and opened up a 25-15 lead late in the first quarter before ALBA replied with a whirlwind 19-0 streak which turned the game on its head midway through the second.
Kotsar and Marinkovic were unstoppable for Baskonia early on but once the visitors closed them down, the home side began to struggle as Howard and Thompson had a quiet first half. Lo pulled the strings at the other end, enabling ALBA to take a 44-48 lead into the locker room at halftime, with Baskonia regaining its composure late in the first half to slash the 9-point deficit.
The hosts then swung the momentum again midway through the third as they engineered a 12-2 run while trailing 51-56 to retake the lead and with ALBA fighting back, Baskonia carried a slender 68-67 advantage into the final 10 minutes.
Like a pair of heavyweight prize fighters dug in at the center of the ring, the two teams traded blows from inside the paint and beyond the three-point arc, as ALBA nosed ahead 80-81 down the stretch. Baskonia then forced the final twist, producing a 9-0 run which allowed the home team to have the last laugh. Kotsar again came up big at crunch time to complement Thompson who carried the backcourt's effort with a sublime second-half performance.
The visitors kept fighting until the bitter end but eventually, they ran out of time and Baskonia emerged as the worthy winner of an enthralling contest.