In the BBL final: goosebumps gesture from the Bonn fans at Ulm victory

You just keep going!

Ulm has thrown defending champion Alba Berlin out of the playoffs. And title favorite Bavaria. And now they also beat Telekom Baskets Bonn (top of the table after the regular season) in game 1 of the final series with 79:73. A real surprise!

The guests’ best thrower is Yago dos Santos with 19 points. TJ Shorts makes 20 points for Bonn.

For Ulmer it is a game of mourning. Team supervisor Andreas Klee († 59) died last Saturday. The “coachman”, as he was called in the team, had accompanied the club for 22 years.

Long before the warm-up, the people of Ulm put up a photo of Klee on their bench. The players wear his name on the back of their shirts.

In the BBL final: goosebumps gesture from the Bonn fans at Ulm victory

And the guest fans have a large banner with the inscription “RIP Andi” hanging in front of their block, show a double holder with the word “Unforgettable” when introducing the teams.

But the appendix of the Bonn team is also reminiscent of the deceased team manager of the opponent. The fans in the grandstand unfurl a poster that reads “Rest in peace, coachman”. A goose bumps gesture!

About the game: It is a final series between two teams that have never been champions. Bonn lost all five finals, Ulm all three with their own participation.

And the way both teams throw in the first quarter, they don’t seem to want to change anything at first. Bonn scores three out of twelve threes, Ulm three out of ten. The game is still great fun for the 6,000 spectators in the Telekom Dome because it is so incredibly intense!

After ten minutes it’s 20:20 – but not in the hall. The score there is 18:20.

The hall announcer says: “Obviously the score on the scoreboard is wrong. We’re correcting that, having some technical problems.”

Magenta expert Dennis Wucherer: “Ulm shouldn’t give Bonn so many chances. Otherwise you won’t win a game. Bonn doesn’t even know what it’s like to lose.”

In fact, up to game 1 of the final series, Telekom Baskets won 25 (!) games in a row in the league and won the European title in the Champions League in May.

Ulm’s Thomas Klepeisz picked up his third foul in the second quarter. And thus violates your own direction early on. Because before the game, the Ratiopharm captain said: “We have to be smarter about fouls”.

Nevertheless, his team leads, even rushing away to 41:31. Bonn didn’t score a single point for over four minutes. By the time the half-time whistle is siren, they’re getting close again and are still 35:42 behind.

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Ulms national player Karim Jallow on “Magenta”: “We have to get a better grip on TJ Shorts. He scored too many points.”

At this point, the most valuable player in the league (MVP) is 14 points.

He doesn’t add a single one to them in the third quarter. But Bonn can get by without him. 52:55 after 30 minutes.

In the final section it gets really dramatic. It’s Bonn’s turn, but the leadership doesn’t want to succeed.

But then! 62 seconds before the end: TJ Shorts makes it 73:73 with two free throws. What a game! What excitement!

The injured Bonn captain Karsten Tadda (season out after back surgery) is cheering on the bench. doesn’t help! Brandon Paul sinks a very important threesome – 76:73 for Ulm.

In the end, Ulm wins 79:73. Steal home field advantage in the Endgame series. And saves his own record – 27 league games (season 2016/17).

Bonn coach Tumoas Iisalo: “We actually had a good game. We’re playing against a strong team. Now we analyze and win game two.”

Ulm’s Thomas Klepeisz: “That was a win for Andi. He was our heart. Did everything for us. He’s been around longer than anyone here. We now dedicate every game to him.”

► Game 2 of the series on Sunday (6 p.m.), again in Bonn.