By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
On a 16-0 sprint to start the fourth quarter, ratiopharm Ulm blew out ALBA Berlin, 88-64, Sunday.
Producing the upset in the first postseason game of Germany’s top-tier division, Anton Gavel’s side went up 1-0 in the best-of-five series of the easyCredit BBL Playoffs.
Brazilian point guard Yago dos Santos paved the way with a game-high 24 points. More Brazilian contribution in the form of Bruno Caboclo’s 16 points to go with five rebounds and four steals in Game 1 of the Quarterfinals series. Brandon Paul’s 14 points including four out of the ten triples connected for Ulm. On the opposite end, experienced big Johannes Thiemann tallied a team-high 11 points.
Apart from the bad news on losing homecourt advantage, the team coached by Israel Gonzalez enjoyed Tamir Blatt (right thumb) lasting just over 13 minutes with three points, three assists, and two rebounds in his first appearance since late March. Marcus Eriksson (foot) and Yovel Zoosman (knee) were instead ruled out along with Gabriele Procida.
The defending champions of the German league will switch to the opposite venue hoping to recover homecourt advantage in Game 2 on Wednesday. The rest of the Quarterfinals matchups and respective Game 1 contests stretch from Tuesday to Wednesday. Coming out of the Basketball Champions League Final Four, top-seeded Telekom Baskets Bonn will start the series opposite Niners Chemnitz Wednesday. FC Bayern Munich versus BG Gottingen and EWE Baskets Oldenburg versus MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg will launch Tuesday.
Photo Credit: EuroleagueBasketball.net