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ULM MAKES HISTORY WITH SEASON ENDING WIN!
ratiopharm Ulm capped off their season with a bang beating Breitengussbach 91-76 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg Saturday night to finish the 2004-2005 season at 24-6 in 2nd place in the 2.Bundesliga South. Ulm's win made franchise history by becoming the first Ulm team to complete a season unbeaten at home with a perfect 15-0 mark. Saturday's winning season finale was followed by a big party in the VIP room with fans, sponsors and the team. Saturday's win was extra special for Ulm forward Tobi Waitzinger who finished his ratiopharm Ulm playing career with a shining moment fitting for his years of hardwork and committment to basketball in Ulm. Waitzinger, who furiously rehabbed a calf injury to make a start at the small forward spot in his last game, scored the first points of the game and made several inspiring defensive plays in his send-off in front of happy Ulm fans.
Ulm's Tobi Waitzinger (13) sparked his team on his special night Pre-game festivites clearly made the evening about more than basketball. Celebrating the excellent youth program run by Ulm basketball Youth Coordinator Rainer Bauer, several Ulm youth players went through pre-game warmup drills with the ratiopharm Ulm team. Prior to tip off, Ulm players and staff went into the stands for a collection that will send a special fan on a dream-trip to Spain in the near future. Finally, the pre-game build up around "Tobi Waitzinger's Tribute game" gave Ulm players very good reasons to play. From the tip, Tobi inspired his teammates. Running a fastbreak lane hard and taking a dime from Ulm point guard Shaheen Holloway, Waitzinger started the scoring in the game immediately igniting the Ulm team. But early on, Breitengussbach battled hard with the home favorite Ulmers. Post players Tim Frost and Andreas Saller scored inside against the Ulm team and Henrik Gese drilled a perimeter shot from the left corner as the visitors showed they did not make a charity trip. Led by German Bundesliga legend, head coach Derrick Taylor, Breitengussbach fought hard to an 11-11 tie midway through the first quarter. Ulm edged ahead with excellent transition play and strong inside scoring. Point guard Shaheen Holloway became more aggressive looking to shoot from the perimeter and made a difference drilling three pointers pushing Ulm ahead. But Breitengussbach would not go away. Young point man Sajmen Hauer hit a three and pressured on D helping his team. By the end of one quarter, Ulm held a slim three point lead at 26-23.
Ulm's Benni Gulde grabs this defensive board starting a fast break Quarter two seperated the two teams. Making an adjustment on their press made all the difference for Ulm. Forward Fannar Olafsson made strong plays in the paint and worked for second shots on the offensive boards. Holloway kept the tempo high by pushing the ball in transition where Ulm held a 12-2 advantage at the first half break. But the dam really burst breaking the game open with 1:42 to play in the first half. Coming out of a Breitengussbach timeout, Ulm talked about finishing strong. They did. Triggered by a tenacious full court press that caused three consecutive turnovers, Ulm converted steals to points like lightning exciting fans with back to back dunks from Fannar Olafsson and Florian Mobius in a half closing run that sent Ulm into the halftime lockerroom in command with a 51-32 lead. Ulm's 25-10 second quarter gave Ulm all momentum on this special Saturday night.
Ulm's Emeka Erege (10) and Maksym Shtein rotate to Tim Frost (15) Ulm players responded extremely well in the game demonstrating professional readiness and playing for the cause. Tobi Waitzinger made the most of his special night setting the tone and giving his team a boost throughout the action. Point man Shaheen Holloway looked to score and controlled tempo well and Fannar Olafsson made his presence felt in the paint. Although Breitengussbach struggled with the Ulm press in the second quarter, their inside players scored effectively inside holding a 19-17 advantage on inside scoring at the half. With 20 minutes remaining in the season, Ulm looked to maintain their momentum to put correct closure on the year. From the first possession, Tobi Waitzinger made sure Ulm would handle business. Actively forcing a steal along the left sideline, Waitzinger saved the loose ball jumping into the air floating over the sideline before finding a teammate to start an Ulm fastbreak. Setting the tone with a basket offensively in the first half, Tobi set the tone defensively starting the second half. His teammates responded. Ulm stretched the lead to twenty at 63-43 early in the third. Rolling, Ulm changed defenses effectively and hit shots both inside and out. Maksym Shtein scored in the paint, hit a shotclock buzzer beating J and finished a driving three point play off glass for an And 1. When the lead reached 71-49 with 2 mintues remaining in the third, Holloway went down with a leg injury forcing Ulm to remove their only true ballhandler from the floor. Breitengussbach immediately capitalized with a strong quarter closing run to recapture a small piece of momentum. Fighting back, Breitengussbach eventually outscored Ulm 25-23 in the third quarter closing the quarter 17 points down at 74-57. The final 10 minutes of Ulm's 2004-2005 season were also the final 10 ratiopharm Ulm minutes for Tobi. In a great team moment, teammates sent Waitzinger to the foul line to shoot two technical foul shots midway through the fourth. With fans standing and cheering, Tobi smoothly sank the two shots on "his" night. But Breitengussbach would not go out without a bang --- specifically forward Dirk Madrich hammered home a powerful thunderdunk over an Ulm defender after running the left lane in transition midway through the fourth quarter. Ulm transition defense and defensive rebounding loosened up significantly with time running out allowing for a late Breitengussbach run cutting the game to 12 and forcing an Ulm timeout. Emeka Erege made a clutch basket and Benni Gulde completed the seasons scoring with a running midlane J with seconds to play making the game a final at 91-76.
Team defense helped Ulm to a season-closing win. At the final buzzer, Ulm players celebrated another successful season with fans and friends. The team took several photos in the crowd with the loyal Ulm fans and quickly joined the party in the VIP room after a short team meeting. Taylorhoops.com Player of the Game Tobi Waitzinger closed the ratiopharm Ulm chapter of his basketball career with complete style scoring 9 points and playing excellent defense that helped inspire the team to the win. Center Maksym Shtein finished his season with a strong 25 point performance and Shaheen Holloway added 21 points in the Ulm win. Breitengussbach Center Tim Frost topscored for the visitors with 21 of his own. Ulm's 2004-2005 season closes with a strong 24-6 second place finish including the perfect 15-0 home record and 10-2 finish overcoming a ridiculous rash of injuries that saw them lose Antoine Sinclair, Kenny Price, Christian Grosse and Peter Heizer for the season at various points. A nice "Tribute to Tobi Waitzinger" win was the perfect way to put closure on another successful season of ratiopharm Ulm basketball. Thank you for following all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com! GO ULM! MIKE T
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