TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
ULM Hosts ALBA, BREE, Tubingen in Fritz & Macziol Cup!!
ratiopharm Ulm plays host to a top preseason tournament this weekend as German power ALBA Berlin, Belgium Champion Euphony Bree and German Bundesliga team Walter Tigers Tubingen converge on Sportszentrum Kuhberg for exciting basketball action Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Looking to challenge the team and bring out the best in the players, ratiopharm Ulm manager Thomas Stoll arranged the high-level tournament with development in mind. ALBA Berlin and Tubingen return for their second consecutive Fritz & Macziol Cup,while Euphony Bree will make their first appearance in Ulm when playing in the tournament. Ulm traveled to Bree, Belgium last season for two preseason games and a team bonding experience at Centerpark.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Friday September 16th, 2005
6pm ALBA Berlin vs Walter Tigers Tubingen
8pm ratiopharm Ulm vs Euphony Bree
Saturday September 17th, 2005
5pm Euphony Bree vs Walter Tigers Tubingen
7pm ratiopharm Ulm vs ALBA Berlin
Sunday September 18th, 2005
1pm ALBA Berlin vs Euphony Bree
3pm ratiopharm Ulm vs Walter Tigers Tubingen
TEAM PREVIEWS
ratiopharm Ulm is proud to host such a tremendous preseason tournament with top teams like ALBA, Bree and Tubingen. 50-10 in the 2.Bundesliga South over the last two seasons (including consecutive second place finishes), Ulm has established their reputation as a quality organization on and off the floor. Rebuilding their roster with 5 new faces, Ulm looks to use the challenging Fritz & Macziol Cup as great preparation that will bring out the best in their team for this season. Captain Emeka Erege, C Maksym Shtein, Florian Mobius and Christian Grosse all bring continutiy to the team and hope to help Ulm to reach new heights this year. Powerful forward Jeff Gibbs and athletic guard Jonathan Levy are two of the exciting new faces in Ulm this season. Experienced shooting guard Jan Sprunken brings winning background to the team and Danish point man Martin Theusen has shown excellent skills in the early preseason. ratiopharm Ulm looks forward to the challenge ahead!
Ulm Roster
Emeka Erege: Ulm captain ready to lead team into tourney
Jonathan Levy: combo guard off to excellent start in Ulm
Jeff Gibbs: powerful big man adds skill and toughness
Maksym Shtein: C looking forward to matchups in F&M Cup
Christian Grosse: moves into starting lineup vs Bree + ALBA
Florian Mobius: key post sub for Ulm will have big minutes
Jan Sprunken: Bundesliga experience will help Sprunken
Antonis Sivorotka: young post will be challenged
Benni Gulde: young guard will be challenged
Martin Theusen: with Danish national team
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Jakob Moeller
ALBA Berlin, a German basketball power with tremendous tradition and success across Europe, returns for their second consecutive Fritz & Macziol Cup. Guided by former North Carolina Tar Heel and national team member Henrik Rodl, ALBA enters the 2005-2006 seson with another strong team built for winning. American point guard Hollis Price (Oklahoma) will run the show and former LA Laker sharpshooter Mike Penberthy adds a perimeter threat. Athletic forward Quadre Lollis returns to strengthen the rebounding on both ends and athletic guard Demond Greene joins ALBA from Levekusen. The team still centers around center Jovo Stanojevic, the best big man in the Bundesliga. Stanojevic, one of the top big men in Europe, combines supreme skill and power in the paint. The Fritz & Macziol Cup will provide ALBA with an excellent preparation for their challenging Bundesliga and ULEB Cup seasons ahead.
Last season vs Ulm: Ulm 83 ALBA Berlin 80 (9/17/04)
ALBA Roster
Hollis Price: top PG/MVP preseason Challenge Cup in Spergau
Mike Penberthy: former LA Laker/NBA champ/ great shooter
Quadre Lollis: athletic rebounder and shot blocking 4 man
Jovo Stanojevic: among best C in Europe/ power + skill
Nenad Canak: 6'9 croatian FWD/ skilled 1 on 1 scorer
Martynas Mazeika: young Lithuanian guard
Sascha Leutloff: young forward sub with potential
Philip Zwiener: forward sub
Robert Kulawick
Stephan Arigbabu: with German National team
Demond Greene: with German National team
Matej Mamic : with Croatian National team
Head Coach: Henrik Rodl
Asst Coach: Calvin Oldham
Asst Coach: Konstantin Lwowsky
After several successful seasons with the Sheffield Sharks in the British Basketball League, excellent head coach Chris Finch settled into Bree Belgium and guided the team to the Belgian Championship and a ULEB Cup berth in his first season. With a strong summer of recruiting, Euphony Bree looks to be stronger than ever! Julius Jenkins, a scoring machine that helped lead Nurnberg to the 2.bundesliga South title last year, signs on in Bree as does physical big man Odell Hodge. Experienced point man Travis Conlan defends and sets an unselfish tone with his play and big men Bryan Lynch and Jim Cantamessa provide excellent perimeter threats. Nate Reinking knows Finch's system well after several successful seasons together in Sheffield. Stronger and deeper than last seasons team, Euphony Bree is definitely a team to watch in this season's ULEB Cup.
Last season vs Ulm: swept 2 preseason games in Bree Belgium
BREE Roster
Travis Conlan: excellent PG (Michigan), sets team first tone + D's
Julius Jenkins: scoring 2G led Nurnberg to 2Liga south title
Bryan Lynch: excellent/ smart/ shooting small forward (villanova)
Jim Cantamessa: 3pt shooting big man/ Sienna College
Odell Hodge: powerful big man/ rebounding and physical
Nate Reinking: 3pt shooting lefty/ played for Finch in Sheffield
Yves Dupont: big man 6'11
Roger Huggins: 6'7 athletic English forward/ veteran player
Hugo Stark: young guard with potential
Herbert Baert: 6'8 post sub
Jeroen Eskens
Head Coach: Chris Finch
Asst Coach: Johan Roijakkers
Walter Tigers Tubingen return to SportsZentrum Kuhberg to renew their rivalry with ratiopharm Ulm for their second consecutive Fritz & Macziol Cup. After winning the 2.bundesliga South in 2003-2004 --- including two classic games against rival Ulm seperated by 3 overtimes and 5 points --- Tubingen finished 14th (11-19) in the Bundesliga last year. Head Coach Pat Elzie accomplished the main goal of staying in the first league and looks to rebuild his team for a higher finish this season. He has assembled an athletic mix of players including top power forward Bingo Merriex (TCU) and athletic wings Tavarus Bennett (Minnesota), Ron Selleaze (Cal St - Bakersfield) and Antwine Williams (N.Colorado). Veteran forward Robert Wintermantel provides leadership and hustle. The team also had to deal with the early departure of star guard Kevin Burleson who was allowed out of his contract after an excellent summer helped him earn a contract with the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA. Expect an exciting and athletic Tubingen team hungry for the high level matchups against Bree and ALBA.
Last season vs Ulm: Tubingen 90 Ulm 79 (9/18/04)
TIGER Roster
Tavarus Bennett athletic 3/ starred in Heidelberg 2002
Bingo Merriex: 6'9 scoring machine from TCU/ in-out big man
Tim Burnette: D2 allAmerican at Tarleton State/ explosive PG
Ron Selleaze: rangy wing/ vet from Mexican league
Antwine Williams: scoring wing/ excellent in transition
Robert Wintermantel: Captain/solid foundation for Tigers at 4
Andrew Slocumb: newly signed 6'10 big man
Rasko Katic: trying to earn contract with team
Igor Perovic: experienced combo guard/ good shooter
Jujan Geiger: young big man/ post sub
Andreas Hornig: provides depth
Head Coach: Pat Elzie
Asst Coach : Mauricio Parra
LAST SEASON FRITZ & MACZIOL CUP
Six top teams were invited including Italian First league team Reggio Emiliia, ALBA Berlin, Superfund Kapfenburg (Austria), Tubingen and 2.Bundesliga North team Bremen Roosters. Reggio Emilia captured the Fritz & Macziol Cup with an unbeaten record. The highlight for ratiopharm Ulm's 2-1 tournament was an 83-80 upset win over ALBA Berlin. Ulm lost to Tubingen before beating Bremen in Sunday action.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
