The basketball players from ratiopharm Ulm lost clearly on the eighth matchday of the Eurocup in the capital of Montenegro. It is the second bitter defeat in a row.
Ulm’s head coach Ty Harrelson had warned about Buducnost VOLI Podgorica: “Podgorica is one of the absolute top teams in the competition. Their squad is broad, deep and very talented.” At the end of this basketball evening in Montenegro, the conclusion had to be that the German runner-up cannot currently keep up at this level for more than four quarters. Ulm clearly lost 71:101.
Podgorica pulls away in the third quarter
The game was decided in the third quarter. The hosts’ 22-3 run took away the Ulm team’s belief that they could cause a surprise. It was the phase of the game in which Ulm gave everything away. They only managed seven points in the quarter, while Podcorica scored 27 points. In the early stages of the game it didn’t look as if the Ulm team would be so clearly inferior. They started the first quarter calmly, deliberately and patiently, at the end of which they were behind 21:26. Until the break it was mainly the American Rasheed Suleimon who made the difference for the Montenegrins with 16 points (19 in total) (44:53 from Ulm’s perspective).
Ulm has to do without important players
Ulm arrived with the best three-point quota in the Eurocup, but also had personnel concerns. Once again it was noticeable that national player Nelson Weidemann, Tommy Klepeisz and top scorer Chris Ledlum were injured. Harrelson’s team lacks her experience. At Ulm, Tobias Jensen stood out with 15 points and eleven assists, but that wasn’t enough against strong Montenegrins. While the hosts celebrated their next victory, the Ulm team suffered a significant defeat for the second time in a row. Due to the fourth defeat in the eighth game, the Ulm team are currently in fifth place in Group B.
Clear defeat also against Bourg en Bresse
Ulm suffered a bitter defeat a week ago. The team lost the home game against Bourg-en-Bresse 64:96. The French are tied at the top of the Group B table with Podcorica, but have one game less and can overtake the Montenegrins with a win at the London Lions on Wednesday (11/19, 8:30 p.m.).
Two people from Ulm in the German national team
There was at least some good news for the Ulm team in recent days: Nelson Weidemann and Christian Sengfelder were appointed by national coach Álex Mumbrú to the squad that will play the world champions from Germany’s first two qualifying games for the 2027 World Cup in Qatar. The opening game against Israel will take place on November 28th (7:30 p.m.) in the Ratiopharm Arena in Neu-Ulm.
Broadcast on Wed, November 19th, 2025 6:00 a.m., SWR Aktuell in the morning, SWR Aktuell
