TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
VS 
ULM - ALBA SATURDAY!
ratiopharm Ulm vs ALBA Berlin
Saturday Febuary 13th, 2010 7pm
Sportszentrum Kuhberg Ulm, Germany
ratiopharm Ulm hosts first place ALBA Berlin Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm. Bringing the Bundesliga's best record, ALBA Berlin is a marquee opponent everyone gets excited for. Earlier this season, Berlin overpowered Ulm at O2 World Arena back in October. Improved and motivated, ratiopharm Ulm looks forward to Saturday nights rematch against one of the Bundesliga's best!
ratiopharm Ulm power forward Christian Burns and teammates are focused to meet the outstanding ALBA Berlin team defense Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm.
click here for regio-tv preview!
This weekend, ALBA Berlin visits Sportszentrum Kuhberg and presents a tremendous challenge. An opponent everyone gets up for, Berlin brings the Bundesliga's best record and one of the best teams. Winners of three straight and six of their last seven at home, ratiopharm Ulm is focused for the big upset win with home court advantage.
ratiopharm Ulm post man Coleman Collins and the Ulm front court prepare for the excellent ALBA Berlin big men.
While the ALBA Berlin team fell just short of qualifying for this seasons Euroleague, they will always be among favorites for the Bundesliga championship. Along with the first place position in the Bundesliga standings, Berlin has also enjoyed a successful Eurocup run
(click here for EuroCup information) . Certainly, ALBA Berlin does an excellent job representing Bundesliga basketball internationally and has established a tradition for success within and outside of Germany. ALBA brings a 17-4 record to Sportszentrum Kuhberg including an 8-3 road mark. An 8 game winning streak propelled ALBA Berlin atop the Bundesliga standings and the Berlin squad enjoyed big wins the season with consistent play.
ratiopharm Ulm's Christian Burns and Robin Benzing challenge ALBA's Rashad Wright from October action at O2 World Arena in Berlin.
With a number of key players returning from last season, ALBA's attack features plenty of weapons including former Bundesliga MVP Julius Jenkins, former Bundesliga defensive player of the year Immanuel McElroy and talented playmaker Rashad Wright. Jenkins is an outstanding scorer currently leading the balanced Berlin attack at 14.6ppg pn 47% three point shooting. McElroy has developed into one of the Bundesliga's best all around players and has produced 10.8ppg 5.5reb and 37% three point shooting. Wright has bounced back from an injury riddled 2008-2009 to give ALBA a strong 8.4ppg 3.6ast and 34% from beyond the arc. Steffen Hamann (5ppg 2.3ast) brings intensity, energy and hustle to the floor as a primary ballhandler and hardworking young German wing Philip Zwiener provides depth. Former SEC Player of the Year at Vanderbilt Derrick Byers was added to the wing and has provided an extra dimension of athleticism and scoring. Byers has given Berlin 8ppg 2.6reb 35% from three in 8 games played. In the post, ALBA relies upon Blagota Sekulic (10.3ppg 5.1reb), a talented and mobile big man. Dragan Dojcin (6.2ppg 44% three) is a hardworking four man with a terrific shooting touch and is an underrated performer for Berlin. Both Sekulic and Dojcin keyed the ALBA win over Ulm back in October. Adam Chubb was recently injured and will miss Saturdays game in Ulm. Missing Chubb's presence in the paint at both ends, ALBA will also be without his solid production. With Chubb's injury, ALBA added Turkish big man Cem Nalga who was with Galatassary Istanbul. Replacing Kenan Bajramovic, Berlin signed skillful four man Jurica Golemac who played with Panathinaikos Athens in Greece. Finally, young German shooting guard Lucca Staigger recently left Iowa State midseason to join ALBA Berlin. Lucca rounds out the roster beginning his Bundesliga career with Germany's traditional power team.
Photo by ALBA Berlin
Earlier this season, ratiopharm Ulm's Per Gunther and ALBA Berlin's Steffen Hamann went head to head in a battle of German playmakers.
Earlier this season Sunday October 25th, 2009, ratiopharm Ulm met a motivated ALBA Berlin team at O2 World Arena in Berlin and the result was a 78-56 home win for Berlin. Hungry and focused after a Friday night road loss in Tubingen, ALBA returned home and flexed their muscles against Ulm. Berlin's Julius Jenkins sank 6 of 9 threes to topscore with 22 points while big man Blagota Sekulic added 17 points 9 boards in the win. Christian Burns led Ulm's offense with 14 points 6 rebounds while Robin Benzing chipped in 12 points and Coleman Collins finished with 10 points 5 rebound in the loss.
click here for complete 10-25-09 Ulm @ ALBA Game Summary!
ratiopharm Ulm's Robin Benzing drives to the basket against the strong defense from ALBA's Adam Chubb. Berlin played outstanding team defense in a 78-56 victory Sunday October 25th, 2009 at O2 World Arena.
click here for 10-25-09 Box score
click here for Ulm @ ALBA Berlin highlights and press conference
Click here for Ulm @ ALBA Berlin rbb Newsreport!
In recent seasons, ratiopharm Ulm has challenged the powerful ALBA team resulting in exciting games. Berlin swept the teams 2006-2007 meetings before Ulm surprised ALBA to take both games in 2007-2008. Berlin won the classic double overtime German Cup quarterfinal game in 2008 and swept two competitive meetins in 2008-2009. In the last three seasons, ALBA holds a 5-2 head to head advantage over Ulm.
ALBA Berlin Head Coach Luka Pavicevic has guided his team to the 2007-2008 Bundesliga title and the 2008-2009 German Cup!
ratiopharm Ulm's trip to O2 World in Berlin last season was a clear ALBA victory. With excellent focus and physical defense, German champion ALBA Berlin controlled the game and cruised to an 84-69 home win over ratiopharm Ulm Wednesday night March 25, 2009 at O2 World in Berlin. Ulm's 1 for 13 three point shooting in the first half helped ALBA build a 41-26 halftime lead before Berlin maintained control throughout the second half. A focused ALBA team shot 54% from the floor as Immanuel McElroy celebrated his birthday with a 13 point 10 rebound performance while Ansu Sesay and Steffen Hamann contributed 13 points of their own. ratiopharm Ulm's Sebastian Betz added 12 points to the teams effort.
click for March 25, 2009 Ulm @ ALBA Berlin Game Summary!
Click here for 4-25-09 Ulm @ ALBA Berlin Photo Gallery
Click here for 4-25-09 Ulm @ ALBA Berlin Box Score
Early last season, ALBA Berlin visited Ulm for a game Sunday afternoon November 2, 2008. With an inspired team effort and fantastic sold out Sportszentrum Kuhberg crowd, ratiopharm Ulm rolled to a double digit first quarter lead and fought off the reigning Bundesliga champs for 35 minutes before ALBA Berlin took control down the stretch in their intense 85-69 road win Sunday November 2nd in Ulm. The exciting game featured highlights from both teams but it was ALBA's Ansu Sesay, Julius Jenkins and Casey Jacobsen who keyed the victory in the final five minutes. ratiopharm Ulm's Sean Finn continued his outstanding play against ALBA hitting 10 of 11 shots from the floor to topscore with 20 points for Ulm. Although the excellent effort fell short against the Euroleague Berliners, ratiopharm Ulm takes many positives from the game and will work to raise their level with the experience.
Click here for complete 11-2-08 Ulm v ALBA Game Summary!
Click here for Ulm v ALBA Berlin Photo Gallery
Click here for Ulm v ALBA Berlin Box Score
Click here for ARD TV highlights of ULM v ALBA game!
An excellent matchup for fans, ratiopharm Ulm's Rocky Trice and ALBA Berlin's Immanuel McElroy go head to head Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg.
In 2007-2008, ratiopharm Ulm upset ALBA Berlin twice with two fantastic wins against the German power. And Ulm almost made it a perfect three for three in a classic German Cup dual. Wednesday March 19th, 2008, ratiopharm Ulm visited MaxSchmelling Arena for a German Cup Elite Eight round game with a trip to the Top 4 in Hamburg on the line. After upsetting ALBA twice in the regular season, Ulm's third attempt fell short in a double overtime classic Bundesliga game. Ulm's heroic effort was spoiled by now Sacramento King PG Bobby Brown's big shots and Bundesliga MVP Julius Jenkins second-OT three pointers.
Click here for Ulm @ ALBA German Cup Elite Eight Game Summary!
click here for Ulm @ ALBA German Cup photo gallery!
Against the odds, ratiopharm Ulm swept ALBA in the two Bundesliga regular season games. March 8th, 2008 ratiopharm Ulm went into MaxSchmellinghalle and emerged against long odds with a hardfought 94-90 upset win. A terrific team effort, Ulm's offense made big plays while the defense recorded important stops. The Game Day 23 win in 2007-2008 marked the first time ratiopharm Ulm had ever won at MaxSchmellinghalle.
Click here for complete Ulm @ ALBA Game Summary 3-8-08
ratiopharm Ulm celebrated two exciting upsets of ALBA Berlin in 2007-2008 season before ALBA eliminated Ulm from the German Cup in a classic double overtime game.
Ulm's amazing 92-90 upset win over ALBA Berlin at Sportszentrum Kuhberg October 27th, 2007 was the first time in team history the German power fell in Ulm. An outstanding team performance led to a memorable win for the Ulm organization and helped to spark early season success.
Click here for complete Ulm v ALBA Game Summary 10-27-07
Classic image of David v Goliath as Jeff Gibbs battles ALBA Berlins center Patrick Femerling for post position at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Ulm.
In 2006-2007, ratiopharm Ulm dropped two decisions to ALBA Berlin, losing 88-67 Saturday October 7, 2006 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg and falling 73-64 at Max Schmellinghalle in Berlin Febuary 4th, 2007.
Click here for complete Ulm @ ALBA Flashback 2-4, 2007
Click here for complete Ulm vs ALBA Flashback 10-7, 2006
After exciting upsets in the past, ratiopharm Ulm will not sneak up on powerful ALBA Berlin. But ratiopharm Ulm will go all-out in their upset attempt.
ratiopharm Ulm rookie forward Robin Benzing works out under the watchful eye of Athletes Performance expert Shad Forsythe and Ulm strength coach Thomas Fritsche Thursday at TSG Soeflingen in Ulm.
This week, ratiopharm Ulm announced the working relationship with Athletes Performance was strengthened as fitness trainer Shad Forsythe traveled to Ulm spending time around the team. ratiopharm Ulm's strength coach Thomas Fritsche has traveled to the USA for the last three summers visiting AP for learning and development. AP's expert in Germany, Shad currently is the fitness coach for the German National soccer team and has worked closely with soccer power Bayern Munich. Now, focused on providing the best possible instruction and training, Athletes Performance working relationship with ratiopharm Ulm takes another step forward for the positive.
click here for Mike Taylor's visit to ALBA vs Barcelona Euroleague game!
Last season in 2008-2009, Ulm's Mike Taylor visited the beautiful new O2 World on the invitation of ALBA head coach Luka Pavicevic for the Febuary 26th game against Barcelona. The trip turned into an enjoyable experience with outstanding basketball and first class hospitality.
Saturday night Sportszentrum Kuhberg will fill with a standing room only sell-out crowd waiting for classic Bundesliga power ALBA Berlin's annual road trip to face ratiopharm Ulm. Always a special game for fans to see ALBA Berlin play, Sportszentrum Kuhberg crowd has been a terrific sixth man for ratiopharm Ulm over the last several seasons. Recently, Ulm has won three straight home games and six of their last seven at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Strengthened by home court advantage, Ulm prepares to meet the Bundesliga's best Saturday night. Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
TAYLORHOOPS.COM GAME NOTES
BUNDESLIGA BEST!
ratiopharm Ulm meets one of the elite teams in the Bundesliga Sunday in ALBA Berlin. ALBA won the German Championship 7 straight seasons from 1997 through 2003, captured the German Cup 1997, 1999, 2002 and 2003 and even won the Korac Cup in 1995. ALBA's 8th Bundesliga championship last season was their first since 2003.
FROM NURNBERG TO BERLIN!
Ulm's opponent ALBA Berlin features one of the top guards in the Bundesliga in Julius Jenkins. The 2007-2008 Bundesliga MVP, Ulm fans will remember Jenkins from his time excelling with Nurnberg in the 2.Bundesliga South. After joining the team midway through the 2003-2004 season, Jenkins was the MVP of the 2.Bundesliga South in 2004-2005 leading Nurnberg to the title and Aufsteig. Moving on to Bree in Belgium, Julius joined ALBA Berlin last season in 2006-2007 and is now one of the most electrifying scorers in the Bundesliga. Julius recently signed a three year contract extension with ALBA Berlin.
Ulm Roster
Lee Humphrey: sharpshooter ready for challenge v tough ALBA D
Rocky Trice: ready despite back spasms earlier in the week
Coleman Collins: more comfortable in the four spot after Martins arrival
Christian Burns: focused for strong performance against ALBA
Robin Benzing: excited for matchup against Berlin defense
Per Gunther: young playmaker focused for matchup v ALBA PG's
Kevin Martin: big man focused for challenge v ALBA frontcourt
Sebastian Betz: hardworking wing recovering from minor groin injury
John Bryant: playing role perfectly from Ulm bench
Christian Grosse: contributing to Ulm with hardwork and teamwork
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Rainer Bauer, Tunde Adekola
Location: Berlin, Germany
Main Sponsor: ALBA
Home Court: O2 World Berlin
website: www.albaberlin.de
2008-2009: 26-8 1st place
(Playoffs: beat Paderborn 3-2; lost to Bonn 3-2)
2007-2008: 27-7 1st place
Playoffs: Won Bundesliga Championship
ULEB Cup: 3rd place (4-6) in Group A
Offense: Offensively ALBA Berlin features a variety of weapons, effectively spreads the floor with shooters and pressures opponents with ballscreens and attacking penetrations. Julius Jenkins is a tremendous scoring guard and both Jenkins and Immanuel McElroy thrive in top of the key ballscreens leading to attacking drives. Shooting four man Dragan Dojcin pressure defensive rotations. Post players Adam Chubb and recently signed Blagota Sekulic are skilled and mobile. Berlin's point guard combination of hardworking Steffen Hamann and skilled Rashad Wright has been terrific this season. ALBA executes with precision in the halfcourt and always seems to shoot a high percentage but Berlin is also an outstanding transition team.
Defense: ALBA Berlin stands as one of the top defensive teams in the Bundesliga. Well-coached, physical and aggressive, ALBA plays excellent man to man defense featuring discipline in positioning with active help and rotations. Without question ALBA takes the mentality that 'offense wins games, but defense wins championships'.
Management: Robert Mayer / Henning Harnisch / Carsten Rühl
GM: Marco Baldi
Head Coach: Luka Pavicevic
Players:
Julius Jenkins: scoring combo G all star game MVP and Bundesliga MVP
Immanuel McElroy: relentless wing developing into key for ALBA
Dragan Dojcin: talented 4 man from Panionios Athen a skilled 3pt threat
Steffen Hamann: firey PG brings intensity, energy and leadership
Rashad Wright: highly talented PG back with ALBA Berlin
Adam Chubb: Bundesliga AllStar center/ talented, athletic post for ALBA
Blagota Sekulic: skilled and mobile big man
Philip Zweiner: talented young German wing
Jurica Golemac: skilled 4 man new to Berlin from Panathinaikos
Cem Nalga: recently added big man from Galatassary Istanbul
Lucca Staigger: recently joined ALBA after leaving Iowa St midseason
