TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
73 
64
ULM UPSET BID FALLS SHORT!
Holding a surprising lead at half and up ten after three quarters, underdog ratiopharm Ulm positioned themselves on the brink of a major upset Sunday afternoon at MaxSchmellinghalle in Berlin. But in the fourth quarter the clock struck midnight for this cinderalla effort as league leading ALBA Berlin powered their way to a hardfought 73-64 win snapping Ulm's 4 game win streak live on Premiere TV. Ulm's courageous team effort was energized by C Bryan Lucas who topscored with 17 points 5 rebounds and Jonathan Levy who added 13 points. Demonstrating determination and unified effort, ratiopharm Ulm can be proud of their inspiring upset bid despite falling short.
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs attacks the strong ALBA defense!
click here for Box Score Ulm @ ALBA Berlin
click here for Ulm @ ALBA Berlin Photo Gallery!
click here for Ulm @ ALBA Berlin TV Highlights
click here for ALBA Berlin homepage Game Summary (in German)
After an excellent week of preparation, ratiopharm Ulm took the MaxSchmellinghalle floor with confidence and energy. Both teams were dealing with injury issues as Ulm's Austen Rowland was hobbled with a slight knee problem forcing him to miss practice Friday and Saturday while Emeka Erege received 6 stitches in his eyebrow early in the week thanks to an elbow in defensive drills. In the Berlin training room, starting point guard William Avery also was struggling with a knee injury that could possibly keep him out of action while last seasons MVP C Jovo Stanojevic is in early stages of coming back to action from a serious knee injury. For Ulm, the road trip to Berlin was something special --- meeting the first class ALBA organization head to head on a floor with so much tradition was meaningful to the Ulm team. Heavy underdogs looking for their 5th consecutive win, Ulm aimed to control tempo and be physical against the Berliners who had just come off a midweek ULEB Cup game against Euro-power Real Madrid. For Ulm, the time was right for an upset!
Ulm captain Emeka Erege provided teammates with an inspiring effort in his "homecoming game" Sunday evening in Berlin.
ratiopharm Ulm opened action attacking ALBA and went nose to nose with the Albatross earning a 7-6 lead five minutes into the game. Teams tactics gradually became evident as ALBA packed the paint on Ulm power forward Jeff Gibbs and used their athleticism to pressure the basketball intensely. Ulm spread out the Berliners attempting backdoor cuts. But after the midway point of the first quarter, action was decisively in favor of the deeply talented and experienced ALBA team. Behind excellent shooting from Julius Jenkins and Johannes Herber, ALBA exploded to a 13-3 run building their lead as expected. Ulm's attack spread the ALBA defense out, but the team stayed perimeter oriented with their shot selection allowing ALBA to run off long rebounds. For the young Ulm team, adjusting to the defensive pressure was a primary focus and executing against it with intelligence became a key. After one quarter, ALBA Berlin held a convincing 20-11 lead.
Austen Rowland gave tremendous effort and demonstrated excellent floor-generalship for Ulm.
As Ulm huddled between quarters, the focus became on shot selection and the offensive attack. Better execution and inside-out shot selection would help transition defense and give Ulm a chance to influence the tempo. Making a terrific adjustment, ratiopharm Ulm players returned to the second quarter like a different team. Behind competitive leadership from Captain Emeka Erege and floor generalship from point guard Austen Rowland, Ulm changed the game. Executing a beautiful backdoor, Gibbs hit Levy for a classic UCLA pressure release layup. Attacking the ALBA pressure, Ulm put the ball inside and Bryan Lucas sparked the offense. Not only did Lucas and teammates finish buckets in the paint, they also drew fouls and got to the foul line. Lucas topscored for Ulm in the first half scoring 10 points with 4 rebounds while Jonathan Levy added 9 points to the attack. Maksym Shtein also was effective in the paint working against Berlin big men Jovo Stanojevic and Ruben Boumtje Boumtje. Soon, Ulm climbed back into the game. Changing defenses slowed the game and forced timely turnovers --- first, Emeka Erege ball pressure caused a loose ball to land in the hands of Jonathan Levy who raced for a breakaway layup. Then, Levy ballpressure poked the ball loose into the hands of Erege who cruised into the open court for a breakaway slam. As the clock ticked down to the end of the first half, surprisingly, Ulm found themselves with the lead AND with momentum. Up 38-37 at the half, ratiopharm Ulm showed they could compete and positioned themselves for the surprise!
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs secures a rebound despite effort from ALBA's Johannes Herber in Sunday's Bundesliga game at MaxSchmellinghalle in Berlin.
photo from www.basketball-bundesliga.de
At the half, Ulm understood ALBA would certainly come out trying to physically dominate the second half. Ulm prepared mentally and physically and would be ready. Breaking down the differences of attack and style of play from the first two quarters demonstrated clearly to the Ulm team what they needed to do to be successful. For casual observers, the first half could be considered "ugly" basketball, but for ratiopharm Ulm and fans, the game was "beautiful" because it was Ulm's tempo.
Opening the second half, ALBA aimed to establish their talented power forward Chris Owens. All 5,457 fans in MaxSchmellinghalle expected Berlin to come out and overpower the "aufsteiger" in the 3rd and regain their lead. But it was ratiopharm Ulm who made the run winning the 3rd quarter 19-10 with an impressive ten minutes. Again, Lucas and Shtein effectively scored inside against the super ALBA frontline. Austen Rowland sank a transition runner and created points in the paint for Ulm big men with crafty penetration and playmaking. Hustle and hardwork resulted in defensive stops and scoring opportunities for Ulm. After falling behind ALBA 20-11, ratiopharm Ulm outscored Berlin 46-27 over the second and third quarters and held a 57-47 advantage heading into the final ten minutes at MaxSchmellinghalle.
At this point, ALBA head coach Henrik Rodl reached into his "Dean Smith North Carolina bag of basketball coaching tricks". The former Tar Heel forward who has done excellent work with Berlin over several seasons, changed defenses to start the 4th quarter simply switching to three-quarter court trapping falling back into zone. Unfortunately for Ulm, the different defense changed the rhythm and caused several stagnant possessions. Two quick ALBA baskets, including a Koko Archibong corner three, cut Ulm's lead in half. After two minutes of the 4th, Ulm held a 57-54 lead with 8 minutes to play. Huddling in the timeout, Ulm reviewed their press attack-zone attack game plan and adjusted their lineup to match Berlin's smaller lineup constructed with perimeter players around post Chris Owens. With the game in the balance of the crunch time fourth quarter, ALBA mounted up and made their run. Maksym Shtein got to the foul line but missed both free throws. Jonathan Levy sailed a cross court pass into the third row. Ulm momentarily lost their focus. ALBA capitalized and cut the lead as Owens hit a beautiful baseline turnaround fadeaway J. Then, Owens tipdunked a miss to regain the lead for ALBA at 58-57. Levy had the answer for Ulm at the other end of the floor buring a big three from the left wing as ALBA rotated in their zone. In an instant, Ulm re-captured the lead 60-58. 5 minutes remained at MaxSchmellinghalle. ALBA evened out the score at 60-60 and the "money possessions" of the final minutes were alive.
At this time, it was ALBA who earned the better play. Johannes Herber pressured an entry pass on the left wing forcing an incomplete pass from Levy to Erege that went out of bounds in front of the Berlin bench. ALBA ball. On the next Ulm possession, poor execution on an endline inbound pass led to another turnover. Then, another empty possession came after a tie-up jump ball situation between Lucas and Owens which resulted in an ALBA possession arrow. Amazingly, Ulm defense kept them competitive despite the flurry of turnovers. With under two minutes, ALBA led 67-62 and Ulm needed to make plays. An errant high-low pass toward Jeff Gibbs was deflected and turned over. But the Ulm defense came up with a clutch stop giving them life. Collecting the long rebound, Ulm players found point guard Austen Rowland streaking up the left sideline in transition. Attacking the rim against Berlin defenders, Rowland leaned in for contact and rolled a smooth finger roll. Unfortunately, Rowland rimmed his layup in and out and Johannes Herner ripped down the rebound. With time running down, Ulm went into the tactical fouling game sending 59% free throw shooter Sharrod Ford to the line. Bryan Lucas unselfishly fouled him on two consecutive possessions fouling out of the game to give his team a chance. However, with under one minute remaining, Ford sank four straight free throws sealing the ALBA win and spoling Ulm's upset attempt. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, Berlin could breathe a sigh of relief and ratiopharm Ulm could take pride in their outstanding effort.
ratiopharm Ulm defended ALBA stars with intensity and teamwork
photos from www.basketball-bundesliga.de
Topscorer for ratiopharm Ulm, Bryan Lucas, finished with 17 points 5 rebounds and sank all 7 of his free throws. Jonathan Levy added 13 points and was effective on both ends of the floor. The balanced team effort for Ulm saw Captain Emeka Erege play an inspiring game in his homecoming to Berlin. Erege made several excellent hustle plays and finished with 6 points 4 boards and strong defense. All Star power forward Jeff Gibbs scored 6 points and grabbed 6 boards against hounding ALBA double teaming and physical post defense. Gibbs made several unselfish plays for teammates and helped Ulm be strong in the paint with toughness. Point guard Austen Rowland overcame slight knee problems to demonstrate excellent court leadership and point guard play while adding 7 points 4 rebounds to the effort. Ulm C Maksym Shtein effectively executed in teh paint scoring 9 points and playing solid defense against top flight BBL big men Jovo Stanojevic and Ruben Boumtje Boumtje. Konrad Wysocki also was effective producing 6 points with a team best 7 rebounds in the strong effort off the bench. Ulm bench players Florian Mobius, Christian Grosse, Jan Sprunken and Ian Young also made solid contributions to the upset attempt. For ALBA, Chris Owens stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points 6 rebounds 5 assists. Johannes Herber, starting for hobbled William Avery, added a quality 13 points 3 assists. Julius Jenkins also reached double digits with 11 points 4 boards. Playing their bench to counter their busy competitive schedule, Berlin now prepares for a tough German Cup game Wednesday at home against Rheinenergie Koln.
Statistically, ratiopharm Ulm shot 38% from the floor (20-53), 13% from three (2-15) and 71% from the foul line (22 for 31) while ALBA hit 44% (25-27) from the floor, 20% from three (4-20) and a clutch 19-21 (90%) from the foul line. ALBA outrebounded Ulm 36-34.
With the win, ALBA Berlin improves to 16-3 and moves into sole possession of first place in the Bundesliga while Ulm slips to 9th in the standings at 9-10. ratiopharm Ulm looks forward to another challenging road trip north to Oldenburg next Saturday. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga basketball all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
