Dhe helplessness of the Berliners was palpable during the game. The people of Ulm, on the other hand, had to curb their enthusiasm. With a bang, they started the play-offs of the basketball Bundesliga on Sunday and defeated the three-time champion Alba Berlin in his arena in front of more than 9,000 spectators by a difference of 24 points.
The hard defense of the team of new coach Anton Gavel and the accuracy of his Brazilian point guard Yago Mateus Dos Santos, who contributed 24 points to his team’s 88:64 – four more than all Berlin players combined in the second half – had the Euroleague Team from Berlin nothing to oppose. From 54:54 at the end of the third quarter, Ulm managed a run of 22:0 points.
“We were kind of overslept,” said the Berlin center Johannes Thiemann, who was the most successful Berliner with eleven points. Louis Olinde (four points), his colleague on the wing, commented: “I hope we wake up now.” “We seemed more exhausted than in previous years,” said sporting director Himar Ojeda. In the past three years, Alba Berlin became champion.
“Nothing is won yet”
That might be more difficult this year. Alba has won 31 of the 34 games in the main round of the Bundesliga this season, including both games against Ulm. But first are Telekom Baskets Bonn, who won the third-class international Champions League against Hapoel Jerusalem on Sunday. Bonn and Berlin can only meet in the final round of the play-offs. The winner of the quarter-final series between Alba and Ulm should be waiting in the semi-finals for Euroleague club Bayern Munich, who have to deal with Göttingen in the quarter-finals.
“Nothing has been won yet,” claimed Gavel, who is called “Coach Tono” by his players. “Unfortunately we can’t buy anything from a 1-0 win. We have to do more on Wednesday and confirm this win.” However, Ulm won more than this one game. Berlin had to give them the home advantage in the second game of the series because their hall is not available due to a concert on Wednesday.
Whoever wins three times wins. “Alba went through many battles. They know what it means to be behind,” said Gavel: “It’s new for our young team. We have to stay hungry and aggressive.” His American guard Brandon Paul (14 points) announced “the next war” for Wednesday.
As a professional with Brose Bamberg and Bayern Munich, Gavel made a name for himself as a tough defender. After two years with the youngsters in Ulm, he became head coach this season – also with the aim of giving the team a defensive identity. This calculation of the Ulm sports director Thorsten Leibenath worked. “Today we probably put in our best defensive performance of the season,” he said. In addition, it was attacking. In addition to dos Santos, his 27-year-old Brazilian compatriot Bruno Caboclo, who can look back on seven years in the NBA, stood out. He scored 16 points.
Leibenath must have been particularly pleased with Juan Nunez’s performance. The 18-year-old point guard took the lead in the second half, making eight passes that resulted in points; he scored seven points himself. Ulm got the talent from Real Madrid and signed him for three years. “We set an exclamation mark with the way we achieved victory,” said Leibenath. Otherwise it will be said: Berlin underestimated Ulm in one game, then they took it seriously.”
