Bonn - Ulm
Germany - BBL, Playoffs, Final
The Basketball Expert
Bonn are at 35-1 in their last 36 games in all competitions. This is incredible information for European basketball, especially since we are talking about team that does not play in the Euroleague. Head coach Tuomas Iisalo made a miracle with Bonn and it will be difficult for someone to repeat something similar in the future. They sweep Chemnitz and Ludwigsburg by 3-0, and before that they won the FIBA Champions League with wins against Unicaja and Hapoel Jerusalem at the Final Four. T.J. Shorts was named MVP in both competitions and will be key target for a large number of Euroleague clubs in the summer. Bonn's defense is at an extraordinary level, while they play with patience in offense. That's always a recipe for success, but it's not easy to transfer that to the court. Bonn succeeded in this.
Ulm made one of the biggest surprises counting playoffs in all European leagues. As #7 seed, they eliminated both Euroleague German clubs: Alba Berlin and Bayern. At the same time, they lost only one game in those two series. Ulm's season changed completely when they signed Bruno Caboclo. The Brazilian power forward plays in phenomenal form, and has a great connection with compatriot Yago dos Santos. The two very often score over 40 points combined. Juan Nunez played the best basketball of his life in the Bundesliga semifinals against Bayern, plus when Brandon Paul and Thomas Klepeisz also shot good from a distance, then Ulm can beat anyone.
It's a bit strange to see Ulm being such an underdog on paper. In this playoffs, they are 4-0 at road, in clashes with Alba Berlin and Bayern. They won three of four road games by double digits. There is no reason why they should not play at a high level against Bonn. Based on what was seen in this playoffs, Bonn and Ulm showed a similar level of quality and we should expect an interesting and uncertain game that will be decided late in the fourth quarter.
Pistol Pete
In a battle of two clubs where one will get historic, first title in German BB L– Baskets Bonn is rightly the favorite against Ratiopharm Ulm. However, the Ulm team is far from being an outsider. Already at the start of the final series, there are good chances for a more uncertain fight than it seems at first glance.
The extent to which Ratiopharm Ulm has made progress this spring is evidenced by the results of the club from the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg. On the way to the final, they defeated not one, but two Euroleague clubs, Alba and Bayern. And especially impressive Ulm players were in completely unexpected victories away from home.
Ulm has won six of seven matches since the start of the playoffs. Against Alba in Berlin they had a triumph of 88:64 on May 14 and 93:81 on May 19. They won against Bayern in both matches on away court in Munich, 87:69 on May 28 and 93:88 two days later! Overall, Ratiopharm Ulm have shown that they can be extremely effective against teams that objectively have more quality individual options in the team's rotation.
This team has been in an exceptional rise in form since the beginning of spring and victory away to French team Bourg 85:78, in a match played on March 22. An excellent example is the duel against Baskets Bonn, away from home on May 7. In the last attack, Ulm lost 85:83, in the match of the last round of the Regular season of German BBL... But, in this game, the team got a clear picture and proof that they will be extremely dangerous for the favorites in the playoffs.
Of course, Baskets Bonn is in even better, historic form. It is about a team that has won 18 in a row in all competitions, since April 5, when they lost to the French team Strasbourg at home 77:76. Since the end of November, they've had only two narrow defeats in all competitions, it was deservedly first in the Regular season and won the FIBA Champions League... In the fight for the title, the Bonn team is a strong favorite, but we should not expect an overly convincing victory in this game. Of the last ten triumphs of this powerful team, six were by single digits.
Previously, the fantastic guard TJ Shorts brought Baskets Bonn to the mentioned triumph over Ulm 85:83. He is the absolute best player, the main shooter, but also the dominant playmaker of the team from Bonn. In that match, he scored eight of the last nine points and secured the victory. He will be guarded by Yago dos Santos, Ulm's playmaker. Both guards are 175 centimeters tall - so it will be a duel of the shortest players in the BBL Bundesliga! During the playoffs, Shorts recorded 18 and Dos Santos 17 points on average. Defensively, Tyson Ward will also have an important role to play against Dos Santos, and Ulm's Brazilian struggled in the semi-finals when faced with pressure.
For Ulm, forward with NBA experience Brandon Paul will play an extremely important role, especially in defense. With his arrival in Ulm during the season, the team was completely reborn and, according to many, he was the key factor in the great victories over Alba and Bayern. Combo-guard Thomas Kleipesz will have to shoot threes well, for the Ulm team to have any chance of winning in Bonn.
Tuomas Iisalo, the Finnish coach on the Telekom Bonn bench, shows that he is maturing and that he deservedly received the award for the best coach in the German BBL twice. This final series is still the biggest challenge of his career so far, and Ulm will be a worthy opponent from the start of the fight for the throne.