After coming away with a 103-99 overtime victory, the German side will fancy its chances of finishing in the top two in Group B.
Ulm ended Gran Canaria's chance at history with statement win
Coming into Tuesday’s game at ratiopharm arena, Dreamland Gran Canaria was the big favorite and it was widely assumed that it would extend its winning streak in the BKT EuroCup to 19 games. The Spanish side had beaten all its opponents so far this season, having boasted a 10-0 record coming into its Round 11 clash against ratiopharm Ulm.
However, it seems that Ulm didn’t read the script. Anton Gavel’s troops knew that it would take something more than just a solid home display to beat the defending EuroCup champion, and even more so after losing 111-82 at the hands of Gran Canaria back in Round 2 back on October 11. Fast-forward two months and Ulm was the winner this time, as it downed Jaka Lakovic’s squad 103-99 in overtime.
“Of course we are happy about this win,” Gavel said during the post-game press conference. “If you compare the game that we played there [with the one that] we played here, there is a difference. It’s just another win and we have to continue growing and building.”
Ulm ended Gran Canaria’s chance at history
Gavel may have insisted that Tuesday’s victory was just a win for the German side, but coming out victorious from a game against Gran Canaria is a truly rare occurrence over the last year. The last time that Coach Lakovic’s team lost in the EuroCup was back on February 8, 2023, when it was beaten 92-70 by Hapoel Vegan Friendly Tel Aviv on the road. That was Gran Canaria’s only defeat in 2023 before Tuesday’s clash in Germany.
In fact, Gran Canaria had been in pursuit of a historic winning record, as only three teams had won more games in a row than the Spanish outfit. Lokomotiv Kuban (April 13, 2013, to March 18, 2015), Lokomotiv Kuban again (October 11, 2017, to March 23, 2018) and Virtus Segafredo Bologna (March 5, 2020, to April 6, 2021) are the only teams to have bettered Gran Canaria’s run of consecutive wins in the EuroCup, having secured 20 straight victories. As such, Tuesday’s defeat at Ulm means that Gran Canaria, which boasts the fourth-best record for consecutive wins in competition history, will not be able to make history this season.
A bittersweet game for Coach Lakovic
Lakovic saw his former team end Gran Canaria’s 18-winning streak and didn’t hesitate to congratulate them after the game. The Slovenian tactician won the EuroCup in his first season at the Spanish side, but he had previously spent three years at Ulm, with which he reached the quarterfinals in the 2021-22 campaign.
“Congratulations to Ulm and Anton for a good game and a deserved victory,” Lakovic said in the post-game press conference. “I don’t think we played a good game, especially defensively. We allowed too many easy points in transition and that cost us the game.”
Tuesday’s statement win over Gran Canaria has shown that Ulm should be considered a serious title contender this season. Having won the German league last term, Ulm boasts an 8-3 record thus far in the EuroCup and is currently competing with Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse (8-2) and U-BT Cluj-Napoca (8-3) for second spot in the standings, which would allow it clinch direct qualification to the EuroCup Quarterfinals.