Champion ratiopharm Ulm suffered its third defeat in a row in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) in a dramatic manner. In the new edition of the final, the defending champion lost to runner-up Telekom Baskets Bonn 97:98 (91:91, 54:37) after extra time despite a strong start.
The Niners Chemnitz clearly won against EWE Baskets Oldenburg thanks to a strong final quarter (28:15). After the 87:69 (44:43) the leader has 17 wins and three defeats. The penultimate Hakro Merlins Crailsheim had to admit defeat to the MHP giants Ludwigsburg with 89:100 (44:52) and after 20 games they still have four wins to their name. Last are the MLP Academics Heidelberg (3:17).
Ulm, which had defeated Bonn 3-1 in the final series last year, pulled away in the first quarter (27:11). The Telekom Baskets were behind for a long time, but turned the game around in the fourth quarter (82:81/36th minute), and the decision had to come in overtime. Harald Frey scored the victory with a free throw eight seconds before the end of the game. Bonn (13:8) achieved an important success in the race for a direct playoff place.
The Bonn team’s top scorer was Brian Fobbs (20 points), while the guests’ LJ Figueroa had 22 points. Champion Ulm (13:7) recently lost against newly promoted Tigers Tübingen and Alba Berlin.
Telekom Baskets Bonn – ratiopharm Ulm 98:97 (91:91, 37:54) n.v – Best throwers: Fobbs (20 points), Kennedy (19), Kirkwood (15), Flagg (13), Griesel (13) for Bonn – Figueroa (22), Nunez (16), Jallow (14), Williams (12 ), Herkenhoff (11) for Ulm. – Spectators: 6000