Ratiopharm Ulm produced an energetic performance in the final period to get the new EuroCup season off to a winning start. Ulm defeated Polish champions Trefl Sopot 96:93 after overtime.
The man of the evening was Justinian Jessup, who drained the crucial bucket with two seconds left in overtime with his sixth three of the game. The American also finished as top scorer for his side with 20 points (7/14 from the floor), after Ulm had trailed for almost all of the 40 minutes.
However, an energetic performance by the team of Head Coach Ty Harrelson turned the game around. With 21 seconds left on the clock, Ulm went ahead for the first time since the opening minutes when Ben Saraf conjured up a magic move on a fast break and set up the completely unmarked Alfonso Plummer for a lay-up. However, Plummer then made a huge mistake: He secured the rebound, but then threw the ball to the opponent, enabling Sopot to send the game into overtime.
Despite the shock moment, Ulm kept its nerve and took the victory despite a largely weak performance. Saraf put on a double-double display with 17 points (7/17 FG) and ten assists, but conceded a number of turnovers, especially in the first three quarters, before the Israeli took control of the game in the last 15 minutes. The second youngster, Noa Essengue (18, 7/11, 6 rebounds), also played well.
Ben Saraf turns up the heat in the fourth quarter
Nevertheless, it was very bumpy for a long time. The guests did not find their game for a long time, especially in offense, and conceded 32 points in the first quarter alone. Simple fouls and coordination problems gave the Poles many easy points, who were able to keep on making pinpricks from the three-point line as the game progressed.
It also did not help the German champions of 2023 that Sopot only managed to score nine points in the second quarter. The Danubeschwaben only drained three of their 15 three-pointers in the first 20 minutes. Jessup was the only player to score from downtown, the rest were 0/10.
However, as the Poles made more mistakes and lost possession unnecessarily as the game progressed, the once double-digit deficit shrank to just three points (38:41). But the visitors still couldn’t find a rhythm. Much of their play remained patchy, and the absences of Tommy Klepeisz and Karim Jallow were clearly noticeable. It was hard to score points in the zone, while Sopot warmed up a little. The game only changed when Saraf moved more towards the basket and defended more intensely.
Ulm will then play at home for the first time on Saturday, when the FIT/One Würzburg Baskets will be the visitors at 6:30 p.m. on the second matchday of the German league. There is also a home game in the EuroCup next Tuesday. The visitors are Joventut Badalona, who beat Hapoel Tel Aviv, with Patrick Beverley and former Ulm player Bruno Caboclo, on the first matchday.
