Ratiopharm Ulm – Baskets Bonn

German BBL Bundesliga Finals Game 3
Ulm, June 14, 20:30 CET

Baskets Bonn will look for a way to bring back the break when visiting Ratiopharm Ulm, in Game 3 of the final series of the German BBL Bundesliga.
The team that has already won the FIBA Champions League this season is still the clear favorite to win the BBL, despite the defeat in the first match of the final at home. Baskets Bonn responded in style in the second game: a 104:75 triumph on Sunday was secured practically by halftime (45:29). The Ulm team did not even try to respond, from the moment when the host made a big difference.
In the rhythm of a large number of matches in a short period of time, it is to be expected that the advantage of Baskets Bonn, when it comes to the number of quality options in the roster, will come to the fore. Also, Ulm will need fresh key options in the game, for the energy level of the superior defense they played in the first game of the finals and victory 79:73 on June 9.
In the previous match, Baskets Bonn had as many as five players with double-digit points. Australian forward Finn Delany marked the game with 23 points and five rebounds, while the best player of Baskets Bonn and the entire BBL season, playmaker T. J. Shorts, had nine important assists in addition to 16 points. Extremely important, none of the players of the winning team played more than 28 minutes.
When it comes to previous games against Ratiopharm Ulm, in the match played on January 3, Baskets Bonn won in style 101:92. The winning team scored as many as 82 points in three quarters - and thus quickly solved the game. The previous season, in April, Ulm lost against Baskets Bonn 85:74 at home.
That's how Baskets Bonn works, a team that has only three defeats in all competitions since the end of November - they play even more relaxed and confident when away from home. This is evidenced by the fact that the last two defeats (against Ulm in the first match of the finals and against the French team Strasbourg on April 5 in the FIBA Champions League), in exciting endings, for Baskets Bonn came in their arena.
The team has exceptional experience in responding after stumbling - as evidenced by the reaction against Strasbourg in the elimination phase of the FIBA Champions League. Thus, in their next duel, the German team achieved a convincing and completely routine triumph, 76:66, on April 11 in France.
Ulm has excellent athletes, capable of matching the rival both in the transition and in the positional rhythm of the game. However, in the eventual exciting final minutes of the game, it can be expected that Baskets Bonn will have the upper hand. What is due to the much larger number of quality players, but also to the fact that they are a more rested team, more experienced, with many such victories already achieved this season.