Lorant, Freeman hold off Balkan, put Alba Fehervar in pole position

SZEKESFEHERVAR (FIBA Europe Cup) - There seems to be no stopping Alba Fehervar in the FIBA Europe Cup, with the Hungarian side making it three wins in a row in Group J with a down-to-the-wire 65-64 triumph over Balkan Botevgrad on Tuesday.

Undefeated since Jesus Ramirez got the head coach appointment in mid-December, the club from Szekesfehervar took another step towards the Play-Offs by improving to a 3-1 record.

Alba Fehérvár - BC Balkan 65-64
📸: Erika Simon pic.twitter.com/F7P5I0E0sV

— Alba Fehérvár Basket (@alba_fehervar) January 22, 2019

Turning Point: Trailing 63-61 inside the final minute, Balkan had three opportunities in a single trip to either bring the game level or swing it in their favor but couldn't make their extra opportunities count. On the other end, Allerik Freeman knocked down a couple of free throws to sure up the difference. Although a three-pointer by Brandon Brown gave the visitors a glimmer of hope, there wasn't enough time on the clock to make it even more interesting.

Game Heroes: Alba's one-two punch of Allerik Freeman and Peter Lorant combined for 40 points in the low-scoring affair, with Freeman posting a game-high 21 points and team captain Lorant chipping in with 19 points and 7 rebounds. They also accounted for 12 of the home side's 14 points in the final quarter.

Circus finish for @brandon_brown3, as he ignites a Balkan comeback! #FIBAEuropeCup pic.twitter.com/zecYu1H0jt

— FIBA Europe Cup (@FIBAEuropeCup) January 22, 2019

Stats Don't Lie: The fifth-best three-point shooting team in the FIBA Europe Cup at 38.6 percent, Balkan couldn't get anything to go down for them in Hungary, making just 8-of-28 attempts from beyond the arc.

Bottom Line: Although Alba moved to the top of the Group J standings with the victory, the Nebojsa Vidic-coached Balkan held on to the head-to-head tie-breaker, having won the first meeting in Botevgrad by a larger six-point margin.

They Said: "It was an extremely hard game against a team that is in a really good physical shape. They didn't have any clear situations to shoot, but they played really good defense on us. The rebounds are something we have to work on." – Alba Fehervar head coach Jesus Ramirez

"I would say we lost the game, not Alba won it. We struggled with some situations during the game. We have a lot to work on. We didn't have a game we could have played." – Balkan head coach Nebojsa Vidic

FIBA