By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
After a rocky start, Ulm is heading to the quarterfinals of the 7Days EuroCup. The German team was down 17 at one point in the first half against Buducnost, but a spectacular second-half comeback got the job done with a 92-83 victory. Ulm will face the winner of Thursday’s clash between Turk Telekom Ankara and Germani Brescia in next week’s quarterfinals.
Bruno Caboclo led the winners with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Paul scored 18 on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, Fedor Zugic added 14 against his former team and Yago Dos Santos ran the offense with 10 points and 7 assists. Erick Green paced Buducnost with 29 points, Trae Bell-Haynes contributed 17 points and 8 assists and Alpha Kaba collected 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks in defeat.
At the start of the second quarter when the scoreboard showed 33-16 for Buducnost, almost everybody thought the game was over, we say almost because Ulm players continue to fight and turn the entire game around in the third quarter. Bucucnost only scored nine points and let the game slip away as the German side easily finished the game on a high note.
“I think the guys stepped up and did a great job defensively in the second half and from there on we were able to score. I think throughout the season, we developed our defense and we have to build on that and without it, in the first half we were non-existent and they took advantage of us. The second half, especially the third quarter, we only allowed 9 points and that was the key for our victory. First of all, congrats to our players. We continue our dream, our journey. It’s huge that we overcame this kind of deficit in the first half. For a young team, it’s great to believe that we can still go on. We deserve the next game and we’re happy about it“, said ratiopharm Ulm head coach Anton Gavel.