Ulm rallies from 17 down to KO Buducnost, 92-83

ratiopharm Ulm dominated the third quarter to complete a comeback from a 17-point second-quarter deficit en route to a 92-83 victory over Buducnost VOLI Podgorica on Wednesday night at Ratiopharm Arena in the 7DAYS EuroCup Eighthfinals. Ulm will face the winner of Thursday's clash between Turk Telekom Ankara and Germani Brescia in next week's quarterfinals.
Bruno Caboclo led the winners with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Brandon Paul scored 18 on 4-of-7 three-point shooting, Fedor Zugic added 14 against his former team and Yago Dos Santos ran the offense with 10 points and 7 assists. Erick Green paced Buducnost with 29 points, Trae Bell-Haynes contributed 17 points and 8 assists and Alpha Kaba collected 11 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks in defeat.
It was all Caboclo in the first minute with a slam and a put-back on the first two offensive possessions and a block and a rebound on Buducnost's first two attacks. The Buducnost guards soon tied the score and went ahead 7-10 through 5 points from Edin Atic. Bell-Haynes heated up for the visitors and a pair of triples by Green made it 14-23. An Ulm timeout changed little as Petar Popovic scored the last 5 points of the fist quarter to take a commanding 16-30 advantage.
Buducnost more than doubled the hosts' output after Cameron Reynolds's three-pointer to open the second quarter. Ulm entered the bonus after drawing 5 fouls in the first 3 minutes of the quarter. Dos Santos heated up with free throws and a deep three in an 11-2 run that drew Ulm within 30-37. Green and Buducnost soon restored a double-digit lead. Zugic continued to shine for Ulm, but Buducnost had an answer for each of his scores and halftime arrived with the visitors ahead 42-53.
Game Videos
Ulm came out for the second half with a renewed defensive effort and after put-backs by Caboclo and Philipp Herkenoff and a three by Do Santos, the margin was down to 49-55. A jumper by Caboclo prompted a Buducnost timeout at 56-59, midway through the third quarter, with the crowd in full song. Thomas Klepeisz completed the Ulm comeback with a floating one-legged three-pointer that made it 61-59. Juan Nunez drilled a three and a buzzer-beating layup to make it 68-62 at the end of the quarter.
Reynolds's slam sparked Buducnost, but Ulm maintained a slim lead. Paul's four-point play threatened to blow things open at 77-69 and he followed that up with a three on the next possession. With less than 5 minutes remaining, Buducnost called timeout and looked to regroup through Bell-Haynes and Green, who got their side within 80-74. Caboclo scored on a mismatch and Klepeisz sank free throws to keep Ulm in control down the stretch, 85-76. Buducnost was unable to mount a final charge and Ulm held on to celebrate.