Fritz & Macziol Cup Summary
September 16-18, 2005 @ Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm
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DAY ONE
September 16th, 2005
6pm
90 69
Jumping out to a fast first quarter start behind hot shooting Igor Perovic, Tubingen ran past shorthanded ALBA Berlin 90-69 in the first game of the 2005 Fritz & Macziol Cup. Perovic finished the game with a Tiger-best 16 points drilling 5 of 7 from the floor including 5 for 6 from three. Athletic point guard Antwine Williams added 14 points while Tim Burnette (13), Ron Selleaze (12) and newly signed center Andy Slocumb (12) all reached double figures. Tubingen shot 55% from the floor for the game while holding ALBA to 34%. Former LA Laker shooting guard Mike Penberthy topscored in the game with 26 on a sizzling 6 of 9 behind the arc. Berliners Quadre Lollis and Sascha Leutloff each chipped in 11 as the only other ALBA players to reach double digits. Tubingen ran out to a 28-18 lead after one quarter and improved the cushion to 46-32 after the first half. ALBA, a ULEB Cup team this season, played without several key members from their team including shooting guard Demond Greene and power forward Stephen Arigbabu --- both with the German national team. ALBA guard Matej Mamic was playing with the Croatian National team and not in Ulm. Finally, superstar center Jovo Stanojevic sat out the game with inflamation of his achilles. The revamped Tubingen roster made a very good first impression in the win and Head Coach Pat Elzie could be proud of his teams performance.
8pm
91 
75
ratiopharm Ulm welcomed Belgian Champion and ULEB Cup team Euphony Bree to Sportszentrum Kuhberg for the 8pm game on day one of the 2005 Fritz & Macziol Cup. Rising to the challenge, Ulm put six players in double figures and broke the game open outscoring the Belgian Champions 50-29 in the second and third quarters. Controlling tempo and executing their game plan extremely well on both ends of the floor, Ulm showed flashes of positive potential throughout the performance. Maksym Shtein scored a game high 22 points while grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. Point guard Christian Grosse, starting in place of absent Martin Theusen currently with the Danish National team, directed the Ulm attack with precision and control while adding 15 points. Jonathan Levy played well on both ends of the floor to finish with 15 points of his own. Power forward Jeff Gibbs made his presence felt with 14 points and a game best 9 boards. Emeka Erege produced 11 including a big three ball from the left corner snuffing out a fourth quarter Bree run. Jan Sprunken played excellent minutes for the team drilling 4 of 6 shots from the floor including two energizing three pointers in Ulm's big 25-13 second quarter run. A furious Bree rally cut into the lead with a 27-18 fourth quarter run, as former RCE Falke Nurnberg star Julius Jenkins and big man Odell Hodge topscored for Bree with 15 points apiece. Bryan Lynch and Nate Reinking were the only other two Bree scorers to reach double figures. The upset win marks the second consecutive season ratiopharm Ulm has kicked off their Fritz & Macziol with a surprise win after beating ALBA Berlin 83-80 on Friday September 17th, 2004.
DAY TWO
September 17th, 2005
5pm
78 87 (overtime)
Belgian Champion Euphony Bree outlasted a hardworking Tubingen Tiger team 87-78 in overtime Saturday evening in the 5pm game. Veteran point guard Travis Conlan guided Bree to the win scoring a team high 18 points including 6-6 from the foul line. Former Nurnberg star Julius Jenkins also reached 18 points including 11 of 14 from the charity stripe. Forward Bryan Lynch added a solid 15pts and 7 rebounds for Bree. Bingo Merriex and Ron Selleaze were strong for the Tigers as they both dropped 22 in the game. Merriex grabbed a game best 11 boards. Igor Perovic showed his sweet shooting touch hitting 4 of 6 from three as he produced 16 points for Tubingen. Bree finished the game strong coming back against Tubingen 26-21 in the fourth to get into OT before outscoring the Tigers 19-10 in overtime.
7pm
100 74
ratiopharm Ulm upset German power ALBA Berlin for the second consecutive season, this year overpowering a shorthanded ALBA team with a 33-18 fourth quarter run sending Sportszentrum Kuhberg into celebration. Jonathan Levy top scored for Ulm with 22pts including a siizling 4 for 8 from three point range and an electrifying tip-dunk that energized Ulm fans. Jeff Gibbs made his undersized post presence felt registering a 15pt 11 rebound double-double while blocking several ALBA shots. Point guard Christian Grosse continued to demonstrate his progress as a player producing 20 points on 4 for 8 three point shooting while running the team extremely well from his playmaker position. Ulm also received outstanding efforts from shooting guard Jan Sprunken (4-6 from 3pt range for 13 points off the bench) and Emeka Erege (12 points and 6 rebounds in solid play). ALBA, playing without German National team players Demond Greene and Stephen Arigbabu and Croatian National team member Matej Mamic, was led by Hollis Price's 17 points. Outstanding center Jovo Stanojevic also did not play against Ulm. Former NBA shooting guard Mike Penberthy, was limited to 5 points on 2-11 shooting in the game. ratiopharm Ulm ran past Berlin 59-36 in the second half shooting 14-27 from three point range for the game and 51% overall. Ulm also outrebounded ALBA 40-25 and limited Berlin to 37% floor shooting. Clearly a different game when ALBA's roster is at full strength, the win stands as a strong confidence booster for Mike Taylor's team. The win also was Ulm's second consecutive win over a 2005-2006 ULEB Cup team on back to back nights in the tournament.
DAY THREE
September 18th, 2005
1pm
79 89
In a preseason matchup of two ULEB Cup teams, ALBA center Jovo Stanojevic made his first appearance of the tournament count scoring a team best 24 points helping ALBA Berlin to a hardfought 89-79 victory over Belgian Champions Euphony Bree. Stanojevic, one of Europe's top centers, missed the first two games of the tournament with an inflamed achilles tendon. ALBA point guard Hollis Price was also strong in the finale.
3pm
72 75
ratiopharm Ulm fell behind Bundesliga rivals Walter Tigers Tubingen in a second quarter that showed signs of fatigue after three challenging games in three days. Tubingen shot 52% in the first half behind new players point guard Tim Burnette (10 1st half pts) and small forward Ron Selleaze (11 1st half pts). Ice cold in the first 20 minutes, Ulm hit 37% from the floor and only 1 of 6 threes in the half. Still down, 5 with under one minutes to play, Jonathan Levy came up with a steal out but missed a midrange jumper in transition; Tubingen capitalized and turned it into a fast break opportunity stretching the halftime lead to 8 at 45-37. Fatigue, turnovers and shot selection allowed Tubingen to jump out ahead of Ulm at the break, but Ulm players made quality adjustments for the second half outscoring Tubingen 22-18 in the third quarter setting the score at 63-59 Tigers after three. Ulm defense picked up its intensity and the offense took better care of the basketball while executing on a high level. As Tubingen switched to zone, Jan Spruken immediately entered the game and drilled back to back three pointers igniting an Ulm run. Christian Grosse also sank big jump shots as both teams exchanged buckets. Bingo Merriex and Igor Perovic buried deep three balls and Andreas Hornig hit key jump shots with the shot clock running down. Robert Wintermantel provided the Tigers with toughness and energy inside. Down the stretch, Tubingen edged ahead by three with under one minute to play. A key defensive stop from Ulm gave the team a chance to tie with 16 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Ulm executed their designed set play from sideline entry well despite strong Tubingen defensive pressure. As the game clock ran down, the play's number one option Ulm point guard Martin Theusen appeared open at the top of the key for a good look. The Danish National team point guard's open three rimmed out. Aggressively rebounding, Jeff Gibbs collected the loose ball and slipped a quick pass back to Theusen for a second look at the basket as the buzzer sounded. Unfortunately for Ulm, this J also did not go down and Tubingen survived as the winner 75-72. Poor free throw shooting plagued Ulm in the game as the team hit only 11 of 21 foul shots for 52% in the game. With extra meaning in a close game, Tubingen hit a cool 20 0f 22 for 91% to help themselves win. Bingo Merriex led Tigers scoring with 17 while Tim Burnette added 16. Ron Selleaze contributed a solid 13 while Igor Perovic also reached double figures at 11. For Ulm, Maksym Shtein was excellent scoring 13 points with 11 rebounds and Emeka Erege added 12 points with 5 boards. Christian Grosse was the only other double figure scorer for Ulm with 10 on 4 of 6 shooting including 2-4 from three. Special mention should be made of Jan Sprunken's clutch perimeter shooting off the bench which sparked Ulm's comeback run. Jeff Gibbs put in a strong performance on the boards with 10 rebounds and 7 points. Ulm held Tubingen to 38% shooting for the game includind limiting the Tigers to 7 for 30 in the second half.
2005-2006 Fritz & Macziol Cup Final Standing
W L +/-
Walter Tigers Tubingen 2 1 +22
ratiopharm Ulm 2 1 +39
ALBA Berlin 1 2 -37
Euphony Bree 1 2 -17
TAYLORHOOPS.COM ALL TOURNAMENT TEAM
MVP
Bingo Merriex, Walter Tigers Tubingen
First team
Julius Jenkins, Euphony Bree
Ron Selleaze, Walter Tigers Tubingen
Hollis Price, ALBA Berlin
Maksym Shtein, ratiopharm Ulm
Jonathan Levy, ratiopharm Ulm
Honorable Mention
Jovo Stanojevic, ALBA Berlin
Jeff Gibbs, ratiopharm Ulm
Christian Grosse, ratiopharm Ulm
Jan Sprunken, ratiopharm Ulm
Nate Reinking, Euphony Bree
Tim Burnette, Walter Tigers Tubingen
Igor Perovic, Walter Tigers Tubingen
Bryan Lynch, Euphony Bree
UP NEXT FOR ULM
ratiopharm Ulm can be proud of their TEAM performance in the Fritz & Macziol Cup which demonstrated the team's potential. Taking on three strong teams and rising to the challenge, Ulm finished 2-1 for the second consecutive season and was a surprise runner-up in 2005. The team returns to practice this week in preparation for the next challenging preseason test, the Michilen Cup in Karlsruhe Germany with 5 top opponents including Bundesliga's Tubingen, Karlsruhe and Ludwigsburg, French Pro A team St. Claremontois, Croatian semi-finalist KK Zagreb and Gmunden Swans from Austria. Ulm opens the Michelin Cup against KK Zagreb at 2pm Friday at Europahalle in Karlsruhe.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
