Youth will be served when Ulm and Bourg clash on Wednesday to hold on to a share of second place in Group B.
Ulm vs. Bourg: Rising stars take the stage
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4 Mins read
Round 9 of the BKT EuroCup Regular Season bring an exciting showdown between two of the youngest and most fun-to-watch teams in the competition. ratiopharm Ulm (6-2) welcomes Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (6-2) in a battle for second place in Group B in which U-BT Cluj-Napoca (6-2) is also involved. Remember: Starting the season, the best two teams in each group qualify directly to the EuroCup Quarterfinals.
Bourg looks for its first victory against Ulm after four consecutive losses over the last two years. Last season, Ulm beat Bourg at home, 110-98, and on the road, 78-85.
A run-and-gun game is expected at Ratiopharm Arena. Both teams take a lot of three-point shots: Ulm attempts 29.9 shots from the arc per night, trailing only Dolomiti Energia Trento (31.5), and Bourg takes over 25 three-point shots per night (25.3). Ulm (39.3% 3FG) and Bourg (39.1% 3FG) rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in three-point shooting percentage. Last season in Ulm, these teams combined for 62 three-point attempts.
There are many young players to follow in this game, which makes it even more attractive to basketball fans out there.
Ulm: Nunez, Williams are main pillars
For Ulm, Juan Nunez has been outstanding lately and has quickly become one of the best point guards in the competition. At age 19, Nunez is showing great improvement all around, getting more active on defense and shooting the ball much better. He went from a respectable 36.1% three-point shooting percentage last season to 47.4% in this one, and has doubled his average to rank third overall at 2.2 steals per night.
Nunez missed a couple of games due to injury and has been particularly solid since his return, scoring in double digits in each of his last four showdowns. During that time, he has averaged 12.8 points on 66.7% shooting from downtown, 5.0 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 3.3 steals and a PIR of 20.3. Nunez ranks fourth in assists this season at 6.2 per night to go with 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds.
At age 23, Trevion Williams is already Ulm's next top-class elite big man. Williams has posted four double-doubles in seven games and leads the competition in rebounds at 10.9 per night. He has been extremely effective inside (68.8% 2FG) and outside the arc (45.5% 3FG) while averaging 15.0 points, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals. As such, Williams is the EuroCup's PIR leader so far this season (23.6).
Bourg's young players step up
Bourg has its fair share of successful young players, starting by top-class prospect Zaccharie Risacher, who is showing superstar potential at age 18. Risacher is averaging 13.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.9 blocks and a PIR of 11.6, ranking fifth overall in three-point shooting accuracy (58.3%). His matchup against athletic forward Karim Jallow should be one of this game's highlights.
Williams will not have it easy against 22-year-old center Kevin Kokila, who has shown great improvement from last season. A great finisher around the rim due to his good hands and physicality, Kokila averages 7.2 points on 64.1% shooting, 5.6 rebounds and a PIR of 9.5 in 21 minutes per night. Last season, with half of his current playing time, Kokila averaged 3.2 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Unfortunately, Hugo Benitez is out with a broken foot and his matchup against Nunez will have to wait. At age 22, Benitez averages 9.8 points and 6.5 assists in 4 games. He had 26 assists and just 2 turnovers this season!
All these young talents are expected to take center stage on Wednesday night, in a game that has everything it takes to be a great showdown. Ulm and Bourg will be on the floor at Ratiopharm Arena on Wednesday at 19:30 CET.