Ulm Basketball Team Plans Another Surprise in Bonn

Can Ulm pull off another surprise? Or will Bonn equalize? The tension is high in the basketball final series.

After their surprising opening win in the German Basketball Bundesliga final series, the ratiopharm Ulm players plan the next big thing at the Bonn Telekom Dome.

"We have to recover well because the game took a lot of energy. Then we want to try to win again in Bonn," said Ulm's sports director Thorsten Leibenath to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur ahead of the second game on Sunday (6:00 p.m./MagentaSport).

On Friday, Ulm won 79-73 in Bonn, handing the Champions League winner their first Bundesliga home defeat this season. However, Ulm's victory did not create much euphoria among the players. "We lead 1-0. But if we want to take something, we need two more wins," said Leibenath. "It's good that we don't need three anymore, but much more hasn't happened yet."

It would be the first championship title for both Ulm and Bonn. Bonn last reached the final 14 years ago, losing in five games to EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Ulm reached the final series in 2012 and 2016 but lost to Bamberg both times with 0-3.

The two top favorites, Alba Berlin and Bayern Munich, were both eliminated in this year's playoffs by the Ulm’s surprise team. Bonn had won against Chemnitz and Ludwigsburg.