Bayern loses the home advantage in 87-69 loss

The underdog jumps ahead: In Game 1 of the semifinals for the German championship, Ulm snatched home advantage away from Bayern Basketball in front of a good 6,100 fans at the Audi Dome. The Cup winners lost 87-69 due to a disappointing second half and are now trailing 0-1.

Game 2 will already take place on Tuesday at 20:30 at the Audi Dome; Friday (19:00) Ulm will play on their home court.

Tickets for Game 2

In addition to long-injured Lucic, Rubit and Hunter, Walden was forced to miss Sunday's game and will be available in Game 2 after suffering from an illness for several days.

Catastrophe after 52-46 lead

As expected, Ulm pressed the speed button from the start. The FCBB  responded well, but lacked a bit of composure on offense before Giffey and Winston together sank four three-pointers, 26-21 (13th). But Ulm came back before halftime via transition offense and free throws.

In the third quarter, the same picture as the FCBB went ahead but Yago scored for the guests regularls from deep and took a 65-58 lead after being up 52-46. Open shots were missed, the FCBB failed to haul in the rebounds or to match the intensity and thus are down one game. 

Score per quarter Bayern - Ulm: 20-18, 21-24, 17-23, 11-22

Stats: Two-point shooting: 52 % (FCBB) // 64 % (Ulm); Three-point shooting: 31 % // 33 %; Free-throw shooting: 65 % //70 %; Rebounds: 33 // 41; Assists: 16 // 15; Turnovers: 12 // 9

Quotes:

FCBB head coach, Andrea Trinchieri: "Congratulations to Ulm. They kicked our butts in the last 15 minutes, offensively and defensively. We didn't have enough mental discipline and are not ahead in the series, it's 1-0 for Um. They deserved to win and were better. Now we have to get back together and try to play harder and smarter. Our problem was the offense, not the defense. We have a lot of rookies who haven't played playoff series yet. But when things aren't going your way, you need mental toughness and solid defense. But we have completely lost that. Sitting on the sidelines are Walden, Lucic, Rubit and Hunter, four veterans who can do that. It's not about hitting a pitch at all, it's about not letting the game get away from us. But that happened, partly because the opponent did a good job. But our emotional and mental part was frightening. We deserved to be spanked by them."

Niels Giffey: "Ulm had a strong performance, it has to be said. They played with a lot of energy right from the start. We, on the other hand, didn't react well to their fastbreaks. We have to change that for the second game. Then we have to try to control the tempo of the game."

Ulm head coach, Anton Gavel: "We are proud how the guys turned it around today. But that was only game one. That means we haven't achieved anything yet. We have to prepare well again. It will be a completely different game here in two days. We expect a response from Bayern and will try to play well again. Today we didn't finish the first and second quarter so well. There we were always five or six points ahead shortly before and gave that away. We could have done that better. In the second half our defense was fine and we got some stops. Juan Nunez was a big part of the success today. I don't like to talk about individual players, but of course we're happy to have him on our squad."

Game recap:

Andi Obst, Nick Weiler-Babb, Isaac Bonga, Niklas Wimberg and Zylan Cheatham started for Game 1 of the BBL semifinals. They were quickly bothered by Ulm, who pressed the pace and disrupted the offense. Bayern, on the other hand, had the director in Weiler-Babb, who controlled the pace and set the scene for Cheatham to finish with a slam, 6-5 Bayern lead (5th minute). The guests still seemed intoxicated by their victory against Alba Berlin and the 18-year-old Juan Nunez filleted the defense in the pick and roll, which forced Trinchieri to take his first timeout down four (13-9). The Bayern answer came from downtown as Giffey and Winston nailed three threes in quick succession. The Cup winner held the lead at the end of the first quarter,  20-18.

Cash Winston was in a playing mood despite shoulder problems and the guard was everywhere, collecting eight points as well as five assists and three rebounds in just under ten minutes of action. Bruno Caboclo, on the other hand, did not have as easy a game as he did in the quarterfinals and GiIlespie made it difficult for the Ulm star center under the basket. But Anton Gavel's team continued to rely on speed, which they were able to exploit especially after Munich turned the ball over. For the last few minutes of the half it the teams matched each other blow for blow and the score was 42-41 heading into the break. 

Ulm starts running

Bonga brought the intensity demanded by the head coach before the game directly to the floor in the second half and with the support of Cheatham, the all-rounder put the home side back in the lead (50-46/23rd). The consequence of the more aggressive style of play was that after only four minutes Ulm had used up their team fouls. Again, the guests were unimpressed, Yago dos Santos found his touch out of nowhere and converted three tough threes. Winston and Wimberg turned it over which Seeley and Gillespie made up for on the defensive end. The young Spaniard Nunez had the last word of the third quarter again with his buzzer beater for the clearest lead in the game - 65-58

In the final quarter  a game developed that clearly suited ulm and it became hectic. With fast attacks, Gavel's team chased across the court and found their shooters in Nunez, Paul and Christen. Before the Munich team knew it, they were facing a double-digit deficit - 75-64 (33rd). Bonga's wrist wobbled at the free-throw line, Jaramaz missed a free three-pointer and time ticked down on Game 1 (78-66/36th).

The Eurocup participant, however, did not let their foot off of the gas. Even when things got tight, the players knew how to get to the free-throw line. In the end Bayern suffered a clear loss despite a tightly fought matchup, 87-69.