Basketball Bundesliga team ratiopharm Ulm won its home game against the Würzburg Baskets with 66:61. The game wasn’t always high quality, but it was competitive.
Sixth against second actually sounds like a top game in the Basketball Bundesliga. Ulm and Würzburg tried for three quarters on Monday evening to at least show a spectacular final quarter.
Disjointed first quarter
Both teams stumble a bit in this game. There still seems to be a little Christmas laziness in the players’ bones. This is evident in the first ten minutes alone from the many fouls that keep interrupting the game. There were 13(!) fouls on the scoreboard for both teams after the first quarter, an unusually high number for a first half. The score after ten minutes: 17:17 draw.
The game gets (a little) better
The game doesn’t really get any better in the second quarter – and the fouls don’t get any less. On both sides it is the development players who want to shape the game. Davion Mintz has a lot of ball possession on the Würzburg side. For Ulm, Mark Smith drives his team’s game. This doesn’t always look good on both sides; it often remains a matter of individual actions. Nice plays are also in short supply in the second quarter. The people of Ulm still have a treat on offer just before the half-time siren. During a quick attack, Smith places the ball near the Würzburg basket – Anigbata finishes spectacularly with a dunking. Ulm leads at the break with 35.32.
Ulm gets the rebounds
Alec Anigbata also sets the first note in the third quarter: three-pointer plus a bonus free throw after a foul. Such scenes are, as usual, celebrated frenetically in the Neu-Ulm Arena. However, the action is not a turning point for the quality of the game. The fight continues hook and eye on both sides. Up to this point, Ulm has dominated the rebounds. Nevertheless, things remain close on the scoreboard. Before the final quarter, last season’s German runner-up was ahead 49:44.
Close game – then Stove strikes
And again there is a WOW at the beginning of the quarter. Mintz steals the ball from Ulm, runs freely towards their basket and is cleared when he makes a layup. “Justin Simon” echoes through the arena. The fans celebrate the newcomer from Ulm for this campaign. And now, after three quarters of an attempt, the game is picking up speed. Smith and Osborne for Ulm, Mintz and Ivey score for Würzburg.
Jonathan Stove creates an unpleasant scene four minutes before the end. The Würzburger hit Anigbata in the face with his elbow during a layup. Anigbata leaves the hall bleeding, the referees decide on an unsportsmanlike foul.
Ulm with the better finish
Both teams are now showing nerves and making easy baskets. Two and a half minutes before the end it is 61:61. In the last 150 seconds of the game, more goes wrong than goes in. Symptomatic of a bumpy game, it was a rebound from Justin Simon that secured Ulm possession of the ball and victory. Ulm defeated Würzburg 66:61. Smith (21) and Mintz (15) are the top scorers of the game.
Ulm will play in the Bundesliga in Trier next Sunday. Würzburg is already hosting Hamburg on Friday.
