Ratiopharm Ulm wins Game 3 of the BBL final series against FC Bayern. On Tuesday, the underdog has its first match point at home.
Thanks to a gala performance by Justinian Jessup, ratiopharm Ulm shocked FC Bayern in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) final and is close to its second title win!
The 2023 champion won 81:79 (37:42) in Munich on Saturday evening and now leads the best-of-five series 2:1. On Tuesday, Ulm has its first match point at home. If the game is lost, the decision will be made on Thursday in Munich.
FC Bayern Basketball is behind against ratiopharm Ulm in the BBL final series
Bayern initially have control
In the third duel between the defending champion and the challenger, the fans in the SAP Garden saw a partly high-class game in the initial phase. Ulm managed a 9-0 run to 11:6 (7th minute), Bayern immediately responded with a 10-0 run to 16:11 (9th minute).
In the second quarter, Munich initially took control and managed to pull away by double digits for the first time (39:28), but the guests around the strong Tobias Jensen came back. “We need to focus more on the little things,” the Dane demanded during the break at Dyn. However, his team had gotten into the game “quite well”.
Jessup becomes the guarantor of victory
And the second half started more than well. Bayern made a few mistakes, Ulm immediately took advantage of the weakness and scored eight points in a row in 80 seconds, Munich coach Gordon Herbert took a time-out. The game was like the start of the play-off series, when Bayern won at home after a final spurt (82:66), an open exchange of blows.
In the hot final phase, Jessup hit a three-pointer for Ulm to 74:77 (38th minute), 61 seconds before the end, the US professional immediately added the next to 77:77. With 19 seconds on the clock, top scorer Jessup (22 points) put the next three-pointer into the net to 80:79 and set the final score with a free throw. Bayern had no answer.