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No big shots for the league leaders | Veolia Towers Hamburg

The Veolia Towers lose against ratiopharm ulm with 82:72. Hamburg were able to keep up with the league leaders for a long time, but did not manage to create enough shots in the last quarter. Jordan Barnett becomes Towers top scorer with 17 points.

Benka Barloschka: “Congratulations to ratiopharm ulm, who were the deserved winners in the end. We missed the start of the game a bit, but then reacted very well in the middle part of the game. We defended well and attacked efficiently, especially in the second quarter. In the second half we no longer managed to create the shots we wanted. Ulm made that better. We have invested a lot and can be very satisfied with our fighting performance. We kept the game close for a long time and it was still possible to get close. In the end we just didn’t create any more plays. Both teams can leave the game with their heads held high and can now concentrate on the next task.”

Kenneth Community: “We worked a lot in preparation to be able to play well for forty minutes. We wanted to do that today, but unfortunately we didn’t succeed in the end. In the end, perhaps there was a lack of concentration. Ulm is a very good team and we struggled a lot in the second half. The win against Ankara on Tuesday was a good step that we wanted to build on today. There is still a lot of work ahead of us. We will continue to work hard on ourselves and continually develop.”

Jordan Barnett: “We had trouble generating stops when we needed them. At times we moved the ball well and were able to score points from it. In the end we managed to hold Ulm to 82 points. We stayed together well and fought. Next game we will come onto the field with even more aggression.”

The Veolia Towers Hamburg had already set off for Ulm on Friday with the passenger transport of the mobility partner Deutsche Bahn. On the trip to the city with the largest church tower in the world, head coach Benka Barloschky initially had all of his protégés in the pastry with the exception of captain Benedikt Turudić. The emphasis is on “first” because during the warm-up, Jaizec Lottie wasn’t wearing the number four Towers jersey as usual. The 26-year-old guard was out for a short time due to muscular problems.

Niklas Wimberg makes his first appearance in the Towers jersey

In a packed ratiopharm Arena, the game against league leaders Ulm started fiery and with a lot of speed. Brae Ivey opened the Towers’ scoring haul with a three-pointer as the shot clock expired. The Ulm team really increased the pace of the game and responded with six quick points. Reason for head coach Benka Barloschky to take a break. Encouraged by this, the Hanseatic team returned to the field with more determination. Kur Kuath left his first mark with his dunk. Four minutes before the end of the first quarter there was a special reason for all Towers fans to celebrate. Niklas Wimberg made his first appearance of the current season after a long injury. The Veolia Towers now found their stride again and fought their way to within four points of the hosts. But the one-man show from Ulm’s Karim Jallow and the lack of luck in throwing on Hamburg’s side (3/10) allowed the league leaders to pull away again at the end of the quarter to 25:12.

Hamburgers turn the game around with a 0:10 run

It was Keondre Kennedy who opened the second quarter with his successful three-pointer. The Veolia Towers returned to the floor with more speed and now let the ball run better. Jordan Barnett’s converted three-pointer reduced Hamburg’s deficit to just five points and then sent the Ulm team into their first timeout. With an aggressive drive to the basket and more luck with their shots than in the first quarter, the Hanseatic League went 0-10 and equalized (27:27) after 14 minutes of play. Kenneth Ogbe then gave the Towers the lead for the first time in the game with a three-point play. However, the people of Ulm had an answer to every successful action by the people of Hamburg – and the people of Hamburg succeeded equally. Osaro Rich tried to give the Towers the lead again with a wild finish shortly before the break, but failed on the board – so both teams went into halftime with a 39:39 lead.

Photos: Harry Langer

Even after the break, the pace of the game did not slow down. With a solid team defense, the Veolia Towers forced physical Ulm players into turnovers and thus gained important stops. Niklas Wimberg scored his first points in the Towers jersey. Brae Ivey repeatedly weaved his way through a physical defense and Kenneth Ogbe also scored important points for his team. In a very even – but also calm – third quarter, the game remained a neck-and-neck race for the time being. But the hosts stayed ahead. Another dunk, another exclamation mark – Kur Kuath took off again and thundered the ball through the ring after an assist from Keondre Kennedy. But the league leaders were not impressed so quickly and responded with a small run. The third quarter ended 60:56.

Hamburgers don’t create enough throws.

The fourth quarter started with another run for Ulm, to which Veolia Towers couldn’t find an answer so quickly. Benka Barloschky, visibly dissatisfied, asked for a time out to get his protégés’ heads straighter again. Kur Kuath sent a long pass to Barnett, who scored important points in Hamburg’s comeback with a successful layup. A little later it was Kuath himself who was sent by Leif Möller, who served him for the alley-oop pass. Against physical Ulmer, Veolia Towers found it difficult to create their own shots, while the hosts also hit the big plays without exception. The duel between Ulm and Hamburg went to the league leaders for the tenth time with the final score 82:72.

Stats: Ivey (13, 9 Ast.), Rich (2), Maronka, Möller (4 Reb.), Grey, Kennedy (6), Wimberg (2), Barnett (17), Kuath (16, 6 Reb.), Ogbe (16, 4 Reb), Heckmann

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