


ratiopharm Ulm enjoyed a peaceful 78-69 win over visiting 7Bet-Lietkabelis Panevezys at Ratiopharm Arena on Wednesday night. The hosts used a 17-2 opening run to take charge and outscored the opponent 22-11 in the third quarter to confirm the outcome. Ulm improved to 6-5 and Lietkabelis dropped to 4-7 and remained winless on the road.
Yago Dos Santos led all scorers with 21 points, plus 6 rebounds and 8 assists for a PIR of 30. Bruno Caboclo followed with 12 points and 9 rebounds and David Fuchs contributed 10 and 5 for the winners. Jamel Morris scored 16 points in 19 minutes for Lietkabelis.
The hosts had a strong start and held Lietkabelis scoreless for the first 3 minutes of the game, as three-pointers by Thomas Klepeisz, Brandon Paul and Dos Santos helped Ulm build an early double-digit lead that Caboclo soon extended to 17-2. Although Morris tried to revitalize the visitors, Ulm’s backcourt kept punishing the rim and the distance remained big, 27-13, after 10 minutes.
The visitors improved after the break and found some offensive momentum through Paulius Marauskas and Benas Griciunas to reduce the gap to 32-24 midway through the second period. Ulm tried to get back on the good track by restoring its starting five on court, but turnovers prevented it and Lietkabelis trimmed the deficit to 43-38 at halftime.
Caboclo’s work inside and a couple of triples by Paul returned a safe double-digit advantage to Ulm, 55-40, early in the third quarter. Lietkabelis ended a 5-minute scoring drought with a layup by Vytenis Lipkevicius, but the scoring remained elusive for the guests’ offense. Free throws by Dos Santos and Fedor Zugic, plus a buzzer-beater slam by Fuchs made it 65-49 entering the last stanza.
A three-point play by Joshua Hawley increased the difference to 17 points early in the fourth period, as Lietkabelis kept unsuccessfully trying to come back from behind the arc. The visitors’ frontcourt produced some buckets inside to alleviate Lietkabelis’s offensive struggles, but Ulm needed just a couple of long-distance shots by Dos Santos and Robin Christen to seta 74-58 advantage that iced the game with 3 minutes to go.