Spirou Basket got closer to make it to the Turkish Airlines Euroleague regular season for the first time since 2002 by edging Alba Berlin 81-77 in Game 1 of their final Qualifying Round series on Tuesday. As such, Spirou has a four-point lead in the two-way series, that now travel to the German capital for make-or-break Game 2 at the O2 World on Sunday. The series winner will play the 2010-11 Euroleague and the loser will compete in the Eurocup. Demond Mallet paced the winners with 26 points on 9-of-10 two-pointers. Joseph Gomis added 14 while Dwyane Broyles and Chris Hill each had 11 for Spirou. Derrick Allen led Alba with 20 points. Julius Jenkins added 14 while Immanuel McElroy had 11 for the guests, that got its last lead, 51-52, on a jumper by Patrick Femerling. Mallet had 5 points in a 7-1 run that put Spirou ahead for good, 58-54. Spirou managed to get its biggest lead, 80-71, with 2 minutes left. Alba had not said its final word, however, as Jenkins and McElroy allowed the guests to trim its deficit for the already highly anticipated Game 2.

McElroy got Alba going with a jumper and Allen soon added an easy basket but a layup by Brent Wright and back-to-back shots by Mallet gave Spirou a 6-4 lead. Allen kept pacing Alba but Wright and a put-back layup by Brian Greene allowed Spirou to regain the lead, 10-8. Allen scored again and got some help from Tadija Dragicevic to put Alba back ahead, 13-14. Spirou had entered the foul bonus, as Femerling followed 4-of-4 free throws with a jumper to boost the guests' lead to 15-22. Ioann Iarochevitch and free throws by Mallet brought Spirou within 20-24 after 10 minutes. Mallet scored again early in the second quarter but a layup by Jenkins and a jumper by Allen kept Alba ahead at 23-28. Broyles sank a shot that Marko Marinovic bettered with a three-pointer. Broyles insisted with a driving layup, igniting an 8-0 run in which Gomis and Wright sank free throws to give Spirou a 33-31 edge. McElroy silenced the crowd with a jumper and free throws by Hollis Price and Dragicevic gave Alba a 35-37 lead at halftime.

Mallet followed a jumper with a layup-plus-foul immediately after the break, good for a 40-37 Spirou lead. A jumper by Gomis soon made it a five-point game, 44-39. Price struck from downtown and a power layup by Allen tied it at 44-44. Allen stayed unstoppable down low but Gomis followed a layup with a triple for a 49-49 tie. A jumper by an outstanding Femerling soon made Alba regain the lead, 51-52. Mallet scored again and followed Broyles's layup with a three-pointer to give Spirou a 58-54 lead. A layup by McElroy and a free throw by Mallet fixed the score at 59-56 after 30 minutes. Hill buried a triple and Broyles followed a dunk with a layup for a 66-58 Spirou lead with 8 minutes left. Marinovic stepped up with a bomb from downtown and a put-back layup by Allen got Alba within 66-63. Gomis and Mallet kept pacing the hosts and allowed Spirou to get a 72-65 edge with over 4 minutes left. McElroy scored again and Jenkins took over with a triple to keep Alba as close as 73-70. A triple by Greene ignited a 7-1 run that Hill capped with free throws to seal the outcome of this game, 80-71. Both teams kept fighting for points differential but Jenkins and a layup-plus foul by McElroy allowed Alba to keep more options in Game 2.