Dhe basketball players from ratiopharm Ulm don’t want to waste any thoughts on a possible final despite their supposedly comfortable lead in the semi-final series against FC Bayern. “No one is allowed to dream of anything. It’s 2-0 and that’s only a partial success,” warned Ulm’s coach Anton Gavel, looking ahead to the third playoff duel with Munich on Friday. Then his team could make the final entry perfect with a home win.
After their surprising quarter-final success over champions Alba Berlin, the Ulmer have the next title contender on the verge of defeat. “The players improve and play with a lot of energy and vigour,” said Gavel, who played professionally for FC Bayern between 2014 and 2018, praising his team. “Full concentration on Friday. The last steps are always the hardest,” said the trainer.
In the second of five possible semi-final games, Ulm continued their impressive playoff run on Tuesday evening. They prevailed against the Bayern Munich team with 93:88 (44:39). They surprisingly won the first game 87:69 in a foreign hall. Despite a temporary 18-point lead, Ulm had to fight hard to win the cup before victory was finally certain. “We just need to keep a clear head. In the end it was unnecessary from our point of view”, complained the Ulm player Karim Jallow and announced: “At home we don’t want to let the thing take us anymore”.
The outsider from Ulm got off to a brilliant start and was quickly 12:2 ahead. After less than three minutes, Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri took the first time out – without any positive consequences for his Munich team. Ulm played an almost perfect first quarter and surprised the cup winner with his speed. Thanks to two successful long-range shots by Yago dos Santos, the guests deservedly led 27:20.
Anton Gavel’s team was initially unable to maintain its level. The hosts defended more consistently and even briefly took the lead after converting free throws from national player Andi Obst. Then Ulm turned up the heat again and Thomas Klepeisz led his team to the 44:39 half-time score with a buzzer beater. Trinchieri raged on the sidelines.
After the change of sides, Bayern initially fell apart completely. Simple ball losses and an extremely weak defense meant that Ulm was 18 points ahead. Led by captain Obst, who scored 34 points, the Munich team started catching up again and closed the gap to just three points. But the urge phase finally came too late, Ulm saved the victory over time. Point guard dos Santos was the most accurate with 21 points.
In the second semi-final series, Telekom Baskets Bonn and MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg face each other. Bonn had won the opening game on Monday.
