TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
@ 
GERMANY'S BIGGEST STAGE!
ratiopharm Ulm @ ALBA Berlin
Wednesday March 25 2009 8pm
O2 World Arena Berlin, Germany
ratiopharm Ulm travels to historic Berlin Wednesday night for a midweek matchup against powerful ALBA Berlin on Germany's biggest basketball stage, the beautiful new 02 World Arena. Refocused to defend their 2007-2008 Bundesliga championship, ALBA Berlin played an excellent Euroleague season that saw them advance into the Top 16 facing some of European basketball's top teams. Unbeaten at home against Bundesliga opponents this year in O2 World, Wednesday nights challenge in Berlin is as demanding as any all season but Ulm packs 5 out of 6 wins with them as they embark for their two game road trip this week. Last season, Ulm upset ALBA twice in the Bundesliga regular season and nearly made it a third with a thrilling double overtime cup loss at MaxSchmellinghalle. Wednesday night ratiopharm Ulm aims for another surprise on Germany's biggest stage.
The beautiful new O2 World Arena is one of the best Arena's in Europe!
click here for regio-tv Preview
When basketball fans think of the best teams in Germany, ALBA Berlin is always involved in the discussion. Last season, Head Coach Luka Pavicevic led his ALBA team to the Bundesliga championship in his first season on the job. The organizations 8th Bundesliga title, ALBA Berlin is also a 5 time German Cup winner and has finished first in Bundesliga regular season standings each of the last 5 years. Earlier this season ALBA captured the German Cup beating Telekom Bonn in the finals at Colorline Arena in Hamburg. A dominant team in the 1990's, ALBA Berlin became a dynasty in German basketball during the Wendell Alexis era as the team captured the imagination of basketball fans in Deutschland. Much like a dominant franchise such as the New York Yankees or Dallas Cowboys, fans expect greatness from ALBA and every season is judged by Championships in Berlin.
ratiopharm Ulm All Star power forward Jeff Gibbs and teammates face Bundesliga power ALBA Berlin Wednesday night at O2 World in Berlin.
Winning the Bundesliga championship last season, ALBA Berlin returned to the Euroleague in 2008-2009 and competed in Group C against European powers Tau Ceramica Victoria in Spain, Lottomatica Roma in Italy, DKV Joventut Badalona in Spain, Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul in Turkey and Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia. Even more exciting, ALBA moves from traditional MaxSchmellinghalle to the beautiful new NBA caliber O2 World arena and have drawn 15,000 and 13,000 fans to their early season home games. The fantastic new O2 World Arena played host to a preseason NBA game between the New Orleans Hornets and Washington Wizards earlier this preseason and will host the Euroleague Final Four in May. Certainly the first class new home for ALBA Berlin puts them among elite basketball organizations in Europe.
O2 World pictures from www.albaberlin.de
ALBA Berlin has enjoyed a tremendously successful season on and off the floor this year. The teams Euroleague campaign saw them finish with one of the best international performances of any German organization in history. In their Euroleague opener, ALBA Berlin topped Lottomatic Roma 68-63 at O2 World. October 30th, Fenerbahce Ulker beat ALBA Berlin 82-73 in Istanbul Turkey. November 5th, Spanish power Tau Ceramica Victoria pounded ALBA 106-65 in Spain. November 13th ALBA bounced back and earned an excellent 74-72 home win over Spanish team DKV Joventut at O2 World. November 27th, ALBA lost in Slovenia to Union Olimpjia 77-69. December 4th ALBA fell 70-64 in Italy to Lottomatic Roma. December 9th, ALBA earned a 73-62 home win over Turkish team Fenerbahce Ulker from Istanbul. December 18th, ALBA dropped a tight 73-68 decision at home to Tau Ceramica Victoria. January 7th, ALBA earned a terrific 79-75 road win over DKV Joventut in Badalona, Spain. January 15th ALBA lost at home to Union Olimpjia from Slovenia. Advancing to the elite level of the Top 16, ALBA battled with some of the best organizations in European basketball playing in Group F with FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Although ALBA finished 0-6 against these Euro powers, the team represented the Bundesliga with class and quality.
ALBA Berlin Head Coach Luka Pavicevic has guided his team to the 2007-2008 Bundesliga title and the 2008-2009 German Cup!
While the ALBA Berlin team pushed the Bundesliga to new heights internationally, the organization also made impressive progress. Eurosport 2 televised the Top 16 Euroleague games for ALBA live throughout the 6 rounds of outstanding competition in Group F. Even more impressive, ALBA Berlin led all of European basketball in fan attendance as the first class brand new O2 World Arena emerged as a premiere facility in Europe.
click here for Mike Taylor's visit to ALBA vs Barcelona Euroleague game!
Ulm's Mike Taylor visited the beautiful new O2 World on the invitation of ALBA head coach Luka Pavicevic for the Febuary 26th game against Barcelona. The trip turned into an enjoyable experience with outstanding basketball and first class hospitality.
ratiopharm Ulm guard Sebastian Betz extended his contract for two seasons and is ready for the challenges ahead including Wednesday night in Berlin.
This season ALBA has handled the demanding Euroleague and Bundesliga schedule with tremendous success. Currently 18-5, ALBA remains rising to the top of the Bundesliga, a place they have grown accustom to. In the Bundesliga, Berlin opened with four straight wins topping Artland 95-84 September 21st at O2 World in their season opener, beating LTi Giessen 46ers 81-66 in Giessen September 27th, edging Telekom Baskets Bonn 91-84 October 5th at O2 World and improving to 4-0 with a 79-58 road win over Koln 99ers at Rheinenergie Dome October 12th in Koln. ALBA's first loss of the season came October 15th on the road at Porsche Arena in Stuttgart to EnBW Ludwigsburg. Berlin bounced back with a string of four consecutive wins to up their record to 8-1. ALBA topped Bremerhaven October 19th 98-63 at O2 World, beat Ulm 85-69 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm November 2nd and cruised past Nordlingen 72-42 November 16th in Nordlingen. ALBA returned home to top Trier 89-78 at O2 World November 23rd for their 8th win. brose Baskets Bamberg beat a tired ALBA Berlin November 29th at JAKO Arena in Bamberg in a controversial game which forced ALBA to play a 3pm afternoon tipoff with fatigue from their long road trip to Slovenia for a Thursday night Euroleague game. ALBA bounced back to beat NewYorker Phantoms Braunschweig in a tight 64-63 home victory December 6th before falling again 84-81 December 14th to the Giants in Dusseldorf. Back to back home wins bookended the Berlin holiday break as ALBA topped Walter Tigers Tubingen 84-67 December 22nd and beat Deutsche Bank Skyliners 87-71 January 3rd at O2 World. January 10th Ewe Baskets Oldenburg beat ALBA Berlin 81-72 at Ewe Arena in Oldenburg in a battle of arguably the two top Bundesliga teams this season. But ALBA responded with back to back wins as they beat Artland Dragons 90-78 January 24th and returned home to O2 World for a 98-77 victory over LTi Giessen. Interestingly, with their rigorous Euroleague schedule and competitive Bundesliga schedule, ALBA's January 24th home game against Giessen was the Berliners only home game for two months! Berlin traveled to Bonn on Febuary 8th where Telekom Bonn exacted revenge for their early season loss at O2 World and last seasons championship series defeat to Berlin. Bonn won 80-66 over ALBA and Berlin's record was 13-5. As the Euroleague Top 16 round came to a close, ALBA began to focus more on their march to defend their Bundesliga crown. Berlin reeled off five straight wins. Febuary 22nd ALBA beat Eisbaren Bremerhaven 78-69 at Stadthalle Bremerhaven. March 3rd, Berlin won 74-66 over MEG Gottingen at Lokhalle in Gottingen. March 15th ALBA powered past EnBW Ludwigsburg 86-57 at O2 World and March 19th, ALBA edged upset minded Koln 99ers 86-77 at O2 World. Most recently, Berlin upped their record to 18-5 with a hardearned 74-68 road win over Paderborn Baskets at Sportszentrum Maspernplatz in Paderborn. With a stretch run schedule featuring 7 home games and 4 on the road, ALBA Berlin is poised to make a run to the top of the Tabelle once again.
ratiopharm Ulm floor general Dru Joyce thrives on challenges against the best competition and is excited to compete with ALBA Berlin.
ALBA's attack features plenty of weapons. But all discussion must begin with reigning Bundesliga MVP Julius Jenkins who is a tremendously talented scoring guard. Starting his professional career with Nurnberg in the 2.Bundesliga South, the Georgia State product has built a fantastic European career making excellent progress season by season. This year, Julius missed a significant amount of games due to injury but returned to lead Berlin to their German Cup win in Hamburg. Jenkins has produced 14.2ppg 3.9ast while shooting 46% from three and 77% from the foul line. While Julius Jenkins attracts attention for his skills and ability to take over a game, hardworking Immanuel McElroy drives the ALBA attack. Currently averaging 11.3ppg 4.1reb 3.4ast, McElroy is a relentless competitor who can defend almost any opponent on the floor. Former NBA players Casey Jacobsen (9.4ppg 2.9reb 44% threes) and Ansu Sesay (11.2ppg 4.4reb 44% threes) are also key players for ALBA this year. The former Stanford wing who played last year with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA, Jacobsen won the Bundesliga title and was named Bundesliga Most Outstanding Offensive player with brose Baskets Bamberg in 2006-2007. Meanwhile, Sesay took over the game leading ALBA Berlin to their November 2nd win in Ulm with excellent post moves and big baskets on the block or from beyond the arc. At the point, fiery competitor Steffen Hamann has been excellent in his first season with ALBA Berlin averaging 6.6ppg 1.9ast 34% threes and always coming up with big defensive plays and timely steals. Talented point guard Rashad Wright (7.8ppg 3.2reb 2.3ast 30% threes) will likely miss Wednesdays game with an ankle injury suffered last Saturday in ALBA's win over Paderborn. In the post, ALBA relies on skillful Aleksandar Nadjfeji (10.5ppg 3reb) who brings a crafty and experienced game to the floor. Hardworking and athletic post man Adam Chubb (7.6ppg 3.8reb) has worked his way up over several successful seasons with Giessen, Bremerhaven, Artland and now has been solid with Berlin. Steady and hardworking backup post man Dragan Dojcin (3.4ppg 47% threes)provides a lefthanded 'stretch four man' who brings effort and a perimeter threat to the team. Recently signed center Blagota Sekulic (4gp 7.8ppg 4.3reb) adds a mobile and skilled post player with excellent hands and feet. Berlin's bench is strengthened by talented young German forward Philip Zweiner and fan favorite Johannes Herbert who has returned from a knee injury last season.
ratiopharm Ulm forward Romeo Travis finishes against ALBA's Casey Jacobsen earlier this season at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm.
Earlier this season, ALBA Berlin visited Ulm for a game Sunday afternoon November 2, 2008. With an inspired team effort and fantastic sold out Sportszentrum Kuhberg crowd, ratiopharm Ulm rolled to a double digit first quarter lead and fought off the reigning Bundesliga champs for 35 minutes before ALBA Berlin took control down the stretch in their intense 85-69 road win Sunday November 2nd in Ulm. The exciting game featured highlights from both teams but it was ALBA's Ansu Sesay, Julius Jenkins and Casey Jacobsen who keyed the victory in the final five minutes. ratiopharm Ulm's Sean Finn continued his outstanding play against ALBA hitting 10 of 11 shots from the floor to topscore with 20 points for Ulm. Although the excellent effort fell short against the Euroleague Berliners, ratiopharm Ulm takes many positives from the game and will work to raise their level with the experience.
Click here for complete 11-2-08 Ulm v ALBA Game Summary!
Ulm center Sean Finn continued his excellent play against ALBA Berlin topscoring with 20 points on 10 of 11 shooting earlier this season.
Click here for Ulm v ALBA Berlin Photo Gallery
Click here for Ulm v ALBA Berlin Box Score
Click here for ARD TV highlights of ULM v ALBA game!
Ulm center Sean Finn works in the post against ALBA Berlin's Aleksander Nadjfeji in last seasons Ulm-ALBA matchup at MaxSchmellinghalle in Berlin.
Last season, ratiopharm Ulm upset ALBA Berlin twice with two fantastic wins against the German power. And Ulm almost made it a perfect three for three in a classic German Cup dual. Wednesday March 19th, 2008, ratiopharm Ulm visited MaxSchmelling Arena for a German Cup Elite Eight round game with a trip to the Top 4 in Hamburg on the line. After upsetting ALBA twice in the regular season, Ulm's third attempt fell short in a double overtime classic Bundesliga game. Ulm's heroic effort was spoiled by now Sacramento King PG Bobby Brown's big shots and Bundesliga MVP Julius Jenkins second-OT three pointers.
Click here for Ulm @ ALBA German Cup Elite Eight Game Summary!
click here for Ulm @ ALBA German Cup photo gallery!
Against the odds, ratiopharm Ulm swept ALBA in the two Bundesliga regular season games. March 8th, 2008 ratiopharm Ulm went into MaxSchmellinghalle and emerged against long odds with a hardfought 94-90 upset win. A terrific team effort, Ulm's offense made big plays while the defense recorded important stops. The Game Day 23 win in 2007-2008 marked the first time ratiopharm Ulm had ever won at MaxSchmellinghalle.
Click here for complete Ulm @ ALBA Game Summary 3-8-08
ratiopharm Ulm celebrated two exciting upsets of ALBA Berlin last season before ALBA eliminated Ulm from the German Cup in a classic double overtime game.
Ulm's amazing 92-90 upset win over ALBA Berlin at Sportszentrum Kuhberg October 27th, 2007 was the first time in team history the German power fell in Ulm. An outstanding team performance led to a memorable win for the Ulm organization and helped to spark early season success.
Click here for complete Ulm v ALBA Game Summary 10-27-07
Classic image of David v Goliath as Jeff Gibbs battles ALBA Berlins center Patrick Femerling for post position last October at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm.
In 2006-2007, ratiopharm Ulm dropped two decisions to ALBA Berlin, losing 88-67 Saturday October 7, 2006 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg and falling 73-64 at Max Schmellinghalle in Berlin Febuary 4th, 2007.
Click here for complete Ulm @ ALBA Flashback 2-4, 2007
Click here for complete Ulm vs ALBA Flashback 10-7, 2006
After last seasons exciting upsets ratiopharm Ulm will not sneak up on powerful ALBA Berlin. But ratiopharm Ulm will be at full strength for Wednesday nights upset attempt. Keith Triplett, who missed November's matchup against ALBA Berlin due to an arm infection which caused him to miss three games, will be an important player for the Ulm team as he receives the assignment to defend the best Berlin perimeter players.
ratiopharm Ulm's Keith Triplett will be in the lineup against ALBA Berlin after missing the seasons first matchup back in November at Sportszentrum Kuhberg.
ratiopharm Ulm opens up a challenging two game road trip with Wednesday nights game at O2 World in Berlin. Afterward, Ulm will stay in Berlin and practice at historic Max Schmelling halle Thursday afternoon as they prepare for Saturdays road game in Koln. A positive cooperation exists between Ulm and ALBA after Ulm helped the Berlin team with practice times during their early season road trip which kept them in Ulm 3 days in November. Ulm will practice in Berlin Thursday before flying to Koln Friday morning and practicing at Rheinenegie Dome Friday afternoon. Saturday nights tipoff against the Koln 99ers is set for 6:30pm.
Against the odds, ratiopharm Ulm aims to become the first German team to win at the beautiful new O2 World Arena in Berlin, the Bundesliga's biggest basketball stage. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
TAYLORHOOPS.COM GAME NOTES
BUNDESLIGA BEST!
ratiopharm Ulm meets one of the elite teams in the Bundesliga Saturday as ALBA Berlin visits Sportszentrum Kuhberg. ALBA won the German Championship 7 straight seasons from 1997 through 2003, captured the German Cup 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003 and even won the Korac Cup in 1995. ALBA's 8th Bundesliga championship last season was their first since 2003.
FROM NURNBERG TO BERLIN!
Ulm's opponent ALBA Berlin features one of the top guards in the Bundesliga in Julius Jenkins. The 2007-2008 Bundesliga MVP, Ulm fans will remember Jenkins from his time excelling with Nurnberg in the 2.Bundesliga South. After joining the team midway through the 2003-2004 season, Jenkins was the MVP of the 2.Bundesliga South in 2004-2005 leading Nurnberg to the title and Aufsteig. Moving on to Bree in Belgium, Julius joined ALBA Berlin last season in 2006-2007 and is now one of the most electrifying scorers in the Bundesliga. Julius recently signed a three year contract extension with ALBA Berlin.
Ulm Roster
Emeka Erege: Ulm captain provides depth and experience
Romeo Travis: versatile forward ready to face top team in Berlin
Jeff Gibbs: All Star leads Ulm in scoring and rebounding!
Keith Triplett : defensive stopper ready for challenges this weekend
Lee Humphrey: enjoying excellent season with Ulm
Dru Joyce: floor general leads Ulm into exciting challenge
Per Gunther: talented young PG most impressive young German
Dan Fitzgerald: sparked Ulm to beat Bonn with big threes!
Sean Finn: has played extremely well against ALBA the last 2yrs
Sebastian Betz: announced 2year contract extension with Ulm
Michael Schroeder: physical inside presence ready to bang on the block!
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Rainer Bauer
Location: Berlin, Germany
Main Sponsor: ALBA
Home Court: O2 World Berlin
website: www.albaberlin.de
2007-2008: 27-7 1st place
Playoffs: Won Bundesliga Championship
ULEB Cup: 3rd place (4-6) in Group A
Offense: Offensively ALBA Berlin features a variety of weapons, effectively spreads the floor with shooters and pressures opponents with ballscreens and attacking penetrations. Julius Jenkins is a tremendous scoring guard and both Jenkins and Immanuel McElroy thrive in top of the key ballscreens leading to attacking drives. Shooting four men Ansu Sesay and Dragan Dojcin pressure defensive rotations and Casey Jacobsen moves well without the ball, is an excellent curl cutter and can stretch the defense with his deep three point range. Post players Adam Chubb, Aleksandar Nadjfeji and recently signed Blagota Sekulic are skilled and mobile. Berlin's point guard combination of hardworking Steffen Hamann and skilled Rashad Wright has been terrific this season. ALBA executes with precision in the halfcourt and always seems to shoot a high percentage but Berlin is also an outstanding transition team.
Defense: ALBA Berlin stands as one of the top defensive teams in the Bundesliga. Well-coached, physical and aggressive, ALBA plays excellent man to man defense featuring discipline in positioning with active help and rotations. Possibly the best example of ALBA's defensive work took place in the recent German Cup Final win over Telekom Baskets Bonn where ALBA stymied the Bonn attack limiting them to 44 points in Berlin's 69-44 victory at Colorline Arena in Hamburg. Without question ALBA takes the mentality that 'offense wins games, but defense wins championships'.
Management: Robert Mayer / Henning Harnisch / Carsten Rühl
GM: Marco Baldi
Head Coach: Luka Pavicevic
Players:
Julius Jenkins: scoring combo G all star game MVP and Bundesliga MVP
Joe Herbert: has returned from knee injury
Ansu Sesay: former NBA F making positive impact on ALBA team
Immanuel McElroy: relentless wing developing into outstanding europlayer
Aleksandar Nadjfeji: all star F a key to ALBA success
Dragan Dojcin: talented 4 man from Panionios Athen
Steffen Hamann: firey PG joins ALBA from Bamberg
Rashad Wright: highly talented PG will miss game with ankle injury
Adam Chubb: Bundesliga all star from Bremerhaven/Artland joins ALBA
Casey Jacobsen: former NBA wing was Bundesliga Offensive MVP 2006
Patrick Femerling: German National team C out for season with injury
Blagota Sekulic: skilled and mobile big man a good addition to ALBA
Philip Zweiner: talented young German wing
