The Baskets are running out of breath against Ulm

It should be a statement, of course. And this brute dunking was cheered on by Filip Stanic in such a way that one could almost have believed that the 24-year-old had just put the lid on the game. But it had only been 24 minutes and the Baskets were just seven points ahead (57-50). Stanic stuffed the ball through the trap with so much force that team-mate Desi Rodriguez found it necessary to adjust the basket a little. And from then on the clock on it hung a little sloppily.

In any case, the time was ticking for the guests from Ulm, who were able to equalize until the end (60:60) and then after the 69:66 for basketball Bundesliga club s.Oliver Würzburg took over the command a good seven minutes before the end . With a 14:0 run, for which the Austrian national player Thomas Klepeisz was mainly responsible, the Swabians secured the winning lead (80:69) within four minutes. The ultimately deserved 76:88 (46:47) was the 17th defeat of the season for the Baskets, who slipped back to the first relegation zone.

For the first time since taking office in December, Baskets coach Sasa Filipovski was able to draw on a full band. And there’s more: Due to the signing of center Abdul-Malik Abu, the Baskets now have seven imported players, but only six are allowed on the game report sheet. Filipovski decided to forgo his first playmaker. Uruguay’s Luciano Parodi only returned on Wednesday from an international tour of South America, where he lost eminently in Brazil and won at home to Chile, and was rested completely. As did his team-mate Craig Moller, who was on the road for the Australian national team, and who was only allowed to play for just under 15 minutes.

missed game? Here is the live ticker to read.

So Filipovski sent Messrs. Callison, Hunt, Buford, Stanic and (of course) Rodriguez onto the floor for a jump ball. And the 25-year-old New Yorker, who had scored an incredible 41 points in the 86-92 first-leg defeat, more than anyone in the class in this round and never before a player in a Wrzburg Bundesliga jersey, just kept going , where he left off two weeks ago: Rodriguez not only scored the first three points, he also scored seven of the first 13 Würzburg points and ensured that the baskets stayed in the game, especially in the second quarter during a very strong phase for the visitors.

In front of 1687 people (up to 2355 were admitted after the corona loosening), a very entertaining and long-lasting encounter developed from the beginning, in which the Ulmer only took the lead for the first time after a good twelve minutes, which Rodriguez (who else? ) equalized again in the middle of the quarter. The Baskets then went into half-time with a one-point deficit (46:47), by which time Rodriguez had already marked 18 points. In the second half, however, only two more were added. Nonetheless, Rodriguez was again the top scorer of the game.

The Baskets supporters had to wait almost eight minutes until hopeful Abu was allowed to make his debut in the Würzburg jersey, 41 seconds later he scored his first points and then six in a row across quarters. Overall, the American, who also has a Nigerian passport, then scored seven points in 12 minutes. Even if there is still a lot of room for improvement: he at least indicated that he will be able to help the Baskets.

Much more interesting, however, was the fact that the old adage that competition stimulates business also applies to the baskets: center Filip Stanic managed the feat of not catching a ball under the basket in the two most recent games. On Friday evening he put on a so-called double-double with 17 points and an amazing 15 rebounds and matched his league record from the 90-70 win over Bayern Munich. “We lost too many easy balls towards the end. You can’t afford to lose that many balls against Ulm, actually against any other team,” said Stanic afterwards.

The 2.06 meter man had completed an 11:0 run in the third period with his brute dunk. “It’s not a conditional problem,” said Stanic, who then seemed rather at a loss when trying to explain why the Baskets didn’t run out of breath for the first time towards the end: “I have no idea what the problem is.” His coach was particularly concerned about his men’s defensive behavior: “Ulm’s 30 points in the second quarter and 28 in the fourth are of course far too many,” complained Filipovski. And if a team can then sink just three threes (with only 12 attempts), it will of course also be difficult to win a game. “We have to acknowledge that Ulm was better today and keep working,” said the Slovenian, who missed his team’s rhythm: “Nevertheless, we have to play better.”