Israel Gonzalez praised the atmosphere in the Aleksandar Nikolic hall, where ALBA Berlin lost to Crvena Zvezda. The Spanish play-caller confessed he always dreamed of playing in such an environment.
As ALBA Berlin dropped their seventh EuroLeague game in eight rounds, this time to hosts Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (71-92). Gabriele Procida set a new EuroLeague career high with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks. However, ALBA had nothing else going for them.
Hence, the only thing left for coach Israel Gonzalez was to congratulate the Serbian side on its well-deserved victory and also highlight the atmosphere in the Aleksandar Nikolic hall, which he admitted he would like to feel as a host.
"I would be happy if I were the coach of Red Star, the atmosphere is excellent," the Spaniard pointed out.
"When I was a boy, I dreamed of playing in arenas like that," he confessed.
However, Gonzalez added that he thinks that the final deficit is not realistic. He believes that his team held up better than the result shows.
"I think we put up a good fight, we cut it down to 10 points, and I think the final score is not fair," he emphasized.
Gonzalez had to do without his power forwards Yanni Wetzell and Justin Bean, as well as the suspended center Khalifa Koumadje. To make matters worse, Malte Delow, who had just recovered from a concussion, twisted his ankle and had to leave the court.
"I hope we will be more lucky with injuries. We lost another player today," ALBA's coach commented. "I hope we have better luck in the future."
