Favorite fright ratiopharm Ulm has also knocked out Bayern Munich and is aiming for its first championship title in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).
Coach Anton Gavel’s team won the dramatic third game of the semi-final play-offs against the cup winners on Friday (June 2nd, 2023) with 104:102 (92:92, 46:43) after extra time, Ulm decided 3:0 the best-of-five series for itself.
Only seventh in the main round
As seventh in the main round, Ulm surprisingly made it into the final. The club has already managed this feat twice in its history (1998 and 2016). In any case, the last series of the season will be contested by two teams that have never been German champions: In the other semi-final are the MHP giants Ludwigsburg and the Telekom Baskets Bonn, the Rhinelanders lead 2-0 and can on Saturday (8 p.m./ Magenta Sport) in Ludwigsburg buy the final ticket.
The runners-up from Munich had initially lost both of their home games, in Ulm he gave up the first quarter (22:29) – but then worked his way up to the third period, the momentum now seemed to speak for Bayern. However, there followed a 10:0 run by Ulm, which lasted until the final section.
Gripping final phase
Bayern coach Andrea Trinchieri took a break, “doing the little things,” he called out to his players. At first, Ulm even pulled away, already leading by 16 points, but then allowed themselves numerous turnovers. Bayern used this to run 13-0 and took the lead for the first time in the game a good two minutes before the final siren (88-87).
The highly dramatic final phase led to overtime, in this phase Ulm’s Bruno Caboclo became the most important man. With 22 points at the end, he was the hosts’ best thrower. Cassius Winston (22) and national player Andreas Obst (19) stood out for Bayern.
“Distressed Joy” at Gavel
“The joy is a bit clouded right now“Gavel said at MagentaSport in view of a lead of 16 points that was lost in the meantime: “But congratulations to my players. It’s unbelievable that we made it to the final. Now we want more.”
After the game, Bayern coach Trinchieri spoke about the supposed end of his time with the cup winners. “I think it was my last game in my time at Bayern“, says Trinchieri at MagentaSport.