Ratiopharm Ulm missed its first match point in the final duel with Bayern. Afterwards, the Danube Swabians also struggled with the absence of young star Noa Essengue, who had left for the NBA draft.
The reason for this is the NBA draft, which takes place on the night of June 26, where the young Frenchman is highly likely to be among the 30 best talents. Ulm had given him and Ben Saraf, who is also likely to move to the NBA, the option of flying to New York for the ceremony. Only Essengue took up the offer.
Without the big man, Ulm clearly lost its fourth duel with Bayern. They put up a good fight against the reigning champions for three quarters before running out of steam again in the final quarter. “Noa was definitely missed,” said Nelson Weidemann afterwards. “Noa always does good things when he’s on the court.”
Nevertheless, the guard makes it clear that absences are part of the business of basketball. “When someone gets injured, you need the ‘next man up’ mentality. Then we have to do our job even better.”
The all-important fifth game of the BBL finals will take place on Thursday evening (8 p.m.) in Munich. Dyn will broadcast the game live.
