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Only when Bayern turned it on in the last quarter with the score at 67:66 was the decision made.
Bayern Munich lived up to its role as favorite at the start of the Basketball Bundesliga finals. Coach Gordon Herbert’s team won the first final game against ratiopharm Ulm on Sunday with 82:66 (37:36).
In the best-of-five series, Munich consequently took the lead; Ulm can follow suit on Wednesday (8 p.m.) in their own arena.
Andreas Obst impressed in the first game of the finals with 20 points
In Munich’s SAP Garden, world champion Andreas Obst and Shabazz Napier were the top scorers for the defending champion with 20 points each, while Justinian Jessup scored 22 points for the guests.
Bayern missed EuroLeague Playoffs
“It was a close game; Ulm played with a lot of energy. Now a difficult task awaits us away,” said Obst at Dyn. Ulm’s shooting guard Tobias Jensen was at least satisfied with the first three quarters: “We have shown that we can keep up. We have to build on that.”
After the six-time champion from Munich missed out on the cup win and entry into the EuroLeague play-offs, Bayern wants to prevent a titleless season in Herbert’s first season. For Ulm, it’s about the second championship title after 2023.
The game was hard-fought from the start. Ulm’s 6-0 start was the clearest lead until shortly before the end; the lead changed hands several times throughout the game. Only when Bayern turned it on in the last quarter with the score at 67:66 and the guests no longer hit the basket until the end was the decision made.
Schedule Chaos Due to NBA Draft
Three wins are necessary for the big coup; should this take longer than three games, Ulm would be in a predicament according to the current status. Ulm’s Ben Saraf and Noa Essengue are candidates for the NBA Draft, which will take place on June 25th and 26th in New York. Currently, however, games four and five of the BBL final series are scheduled for the 24th and 26th. Ulm had requested the league to postpone the games so that the players could be at the draft without missing out on the fight for the championship.
According to a press release from Ulm on Sunday, this was rejected, whereupon the club sharply criticized the league and Bayern. “Due to the inflexibility of the easyCredit BBL and our final opponent FC Bayern Basketball, not only are two Ulm top talents being torn between their dreams and the sporting value of the final series is being called into question, but also, in our view, a fatal signal is being sent to the outside world,” the statement said.