Valencia Basket trailed by 15 at halftime but shoot it off with a big second half to defeat ratiopharm Ulm 70-76 in Germany on Wednesday night. The visitors improved to 6-3 to stay near the top of the Group B standings, while Ulm fell to 4-5. 

Valencia rallies from 15 down to win in Ulm, 70-76

Valencia rode its big men to the victory. Jaime Pradilla led the attack with 15 points and 6 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Jasiel Rivero added 12 points and 11 rebounds and Mike Tobey posted 11 points. Semaj Christon was Ulm’s top scorer with 15 points, Cristiano Felicio scored 11 with 8 rebounds and Jaron Blossomgame tallied 9 points and 11 boards. 

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The teams needed a few trips up and down the court to get things going. Blossomgame opened the scoring with a put-back slam and Martin Hermannsson drove through the Ulm defense for a layup and Valencia’s first basket. Thomas Klepeisz put the hosts ahead with a triple and despite the best efforts of Tobey, Ulm retained a slim lead. However, Felicio and Christon each scored twice in a 10-0 run for a 19-8 lead. Pradilla ended the Valencia drought to make it 19-10 after 10 minutes.

The Valencia big men trimmed the deficit as Bojan Dubljevic scored in the offensive glass and Pradilla dunked twice to get within 21-16. Back-to-back threes by Per Guenther and Philipp Herkenhoff and another by Fedor Zugic highlighted an 11-0 run that allowed Ulm to double-up Valencia, 32-16. Dubljevic scored twice more through offensive rebounds – the second an and-one that gave him 1,500 points in the competition. Klepeisz knocked down another three to keep Ulm rolling. Free throws by Blossomgame gave Ulm a comfortable 42-27 cushion at halftime. 

Pradilla scored twice in the first few minutes of the second half to trim the Valencia deficit to 11. A layup by Dubljevic made it 46-37 midway through the quarter. Ulm struggled to crack the Valencia defense as Pradilla added a three-point play. Karim Jallow tried to revive the hosts with a score and Blossomgame added free throws, but Valencia had found its rhythm. Rivero scored at one end and made a defensive stop at the other. Tobey netted a three to make it 50-48. Free throws by Guenther and Blossomgame helped Ulm hold on to a narrow margin. Xavi Lopez-Arostegui made free throws to get Valencia within 1 before Fedor Zugic’s dunk ended the third quarter at 55-52.

Josep Puerto’s four-point play completed the Valencia comeback, 55-58. Christon gave Ulm hope with a jumper, but Valencia had the momentum and a tip-in by Tobey made it 57-63. Christon made free throws to keep Ulm within striking distance. Free throws by Felicio and Klepeisz got the margin down to 65-67 with less than 3 minutes to go. Christon missed a floater to tie it and Lopez-Arostegui countered with a three from the corner with 1:35 to play and he all but sealed the outcome with free throws with 36 seconds left. 

ratiopharm Ulm v Valencia Basket (2022-01-12T18:30:00.000Z)

Jaime Pradilla - Valencia Basket (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

This is what the protagonists of the game had to say after such a close deal down the stretch.

Post-Game Quotes: Ulm 70-76 Valencia


### Joan Penarroya, Valencia Basket
“It’s a good victory for us because the first half was very bad for us. We played without energy, without concentration. Our rhythm was very bad as a result. In the second half, we improved our defense – only 28 points allowed in the second half. We are happy today because we missed the first 18 three-pointers and that’s not a normal situation. The most important thing today is the victory and we need to improve the way we played. Our defense was the change [in the second half]. Ulm couldn’t make easy passes or get one-on-one situations and we controlled the rebounds. That was most important. After that Bojan [Dubljevic] and Jaime [Pradilla] in the first minutes of the third qrhythmr controlled the ryhtm."



### Jaka Lakovic, ratiopharm Ulm
"I thought we saw two halves. I think in the first half we were very solid in defense. Valencia missed a lot, but I think defensively we were solid and on offense, we were finding good solutions. The second half was vice versa. We couldn’t find good solutions on offense, didn’t hit open shots. Then we went down because we didn’t hit the shots. This was the key for the game. We played defense when we made [shots] and we didn’t play defense when we missed. This is not acceptable and we have to learn from this for the next game. 18 offensive rebounds - I think maybe 10 of them in the second half, this was also one of the keys in the game. We couldn't get the rebounds and this hurt us, especially when Valencia was coming back and it broke our confidence totally with the offensive rebounds.”



### Bojan Dubljevic, Valencia Basket
“They are a really good team. We started the game very badly without energy. But the second half was different. I think we played good in offensive rebounds and that’s what saved us… The good thing about this game is we showed character in the second half. We showed we can play with energy. I don’t know what happened in the first half. The most important thing is the victory. I’m happy about that. We need to start some game with better energy and a better rhythm.”


Semaj Christon 2- ratioharm Ulm (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

Jaron Blossomgame became the fifth player in ratiopharm Ulm history to collect 10 defensive rebounds in a single EuroCup game. The record is 14, set by John Bryant in January 2013. 

Notable distinction for Ulm’s Blossomgame

That was one of four times Bryant had at least 10 defensive rebounds. The other three to do so were Derek Willis, Daniel Theis and Keaton Nankivil. Willis was the last to do so, in October 2019 against Maccabi Rishon LeZion, until Blossomgame. 

Jaron Blossomgame 2- ratioharm Ulm (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

EuroCup legend Bojan Dubljevic had a relatively quiet night for Valencia Basket in Ulm, but he still filled the box score with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists for a performance index rating of 16. He notched a couple of milestones along the way; Dubljevic’s first basket was the 400th two-pointer of his EuroCup career. 

More milestones for Dubljevic

He became the third player to reach that number and the next-closest active player behind him, JaJuan Johnson, is back at 351. Later Dubljevic became the first player to score 1,500 points in competition history, adding to a storied career. 

Bojan Dubljevic - Valencia Basket (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

Valencia Basket dominated the boards against ratiopharm Ulm. The visitors had 44 rebounds to Ulm’s 35 and they doubled-up the home team on the offensive glass 9-18. Valencia used those to score 22 second-chance points, which were 11 more than Ulm. 

By the numbers: Valencia controls the boards

The rebounding dominance was necessary on a night when Valencia struggled with its outside shot. The visitors missed their first 18 three-point tries and did not connect from deep until the middle of the third quarter. Valencia finished 4 for 32 from downtown and the 12.5% conversion rate was fourth-worst in club history. 

Martin Hermannsson - Valencia Basket (photo Larry Langer - Ulm) - EC21

Post-Game Quotes: Buducnost 83-82 Bursaspor


### Aleksandar Dzikic, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica

"We were deep down, deep down. We came back and on top of everything, without Cobbs in the end. Congrats to the guys, they did a great job. This is very important for us. If Bursaspor had beat us, they would have deserved it, obviously, but we found a way win. This is so big for us I can't explain.

"Congrats to our opponents. We knew they are a tough opponent and that they would come ready - and they were ready to play against us. Obviously, we have our problems but at the end, we found the way to win and for us, it is so important, so emotional for us, believe me, maybe I will explain it some other time. Anyway, that's it."



### Dusan Alimpijevic, Frutti Extra Bursaspor
"My first impression is that we really had some chance to win this game and it was pretty good for us. We didn't use this chance which we created, doing really well until the last quarter, and we let them play like this and let some things on the side move us from our rhythm. We were so concentrated about not important things in basketball. This is also part of growing up, this is also a lesson for us. They are very experienced and got some crucial offensive rebounds. You don't need to be too smart to see it - when you see the paper, you can see 17 offensive rebounds which was really enough to win by 1 this game, because they had a lot of second-chance points after these offensive rebounds. Everything is clear."



### Willie Reed, Buducnost VOLI Podgorica
"It was a great game. It came down to the last possession. We put ourselves in a hole coming out in the third quarter but we found ourselves a way to will ourselves to a W with some defensive stops late in the fourth quarter and we played Buducnost basketball. We always believe, every game we step on the floor, that we can win no matter how many points we are down. We just have that much trust in each other to be able to win games."


Buducnost VOLI Podgorica v Frutti Extra Bursaspor (2022-01-12T18:00:00.000Z)

Kevarrius Hayes - Frutti Extra Bursaspor (photo Buducnost) - EC21

Buducnost VOLI Podgorica had to wait until the final seconds to celebrate its Round 9 win against Frutti Extra Bursaspor, 83-82. Rebounds and free-throw accuracy allowed Buducnost to rally from a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter. 

By the numbers: Buducnost dominates the boards

The Montenegrin powerhouse outrebounded Bursaspor 44-25. Buducnost pulled down 17 offensive rebounds and only allowed Bursaspor to grab 5, in what was one of the biggest keys to this game. The hosts made 24 of 26 free-throw attempts (92.3%) and committed just 12 turnovers. 

Petar Popovic - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica (photo Buducnost) - EC21

Onuralp Bitim produced his best performance in the 7DAYS EuroCup until now for Frutti Extra Bursaspor. 

Bitim has career-best performance

Bitim had a couple of spectacular dunks and had an all-around strong game, finishing with a career-high 15 points on 3-of-4 shooting from downtown, plus 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 fouls drawn for a PIR of 15, also a personal-best. 

Onuralp Bitim - Frutti Extra Bursaspor - EC21

Willie Reed had a sensational performance for Buducnost VOLI Podgorica in his team's Round 9 victory against Frutti Extra Bursaspor. Reed finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-12 two-point shooting, 4-of-4 on free throws and 12 rebounds to record his first double-double of the season. 

Reed delivers again

He had four double-doubles in the 2020-21 campaign, in which he earned All-EuroCup First Team honors. Reed handed Buducnost the victory with a great defensive stop down the stretch. Buducnost led 83-82 and Allerik Freeman had a chance to win it with a baseline jumper but Reed stood in his way with a huge block. 

Willie Reed - Buducnost VOLI Podgorica - EC21