Basketball Bundesliga
Telekom Baskets Bonn reach BBL finals
Telekom Baskets Bonn followed Ulm into the BBL final. photo
© Hendrik Schmidt/dpa/archive image
After ratiopharm Ulm, Telekom Baskets Bonn also won their playoff semifinals with three victories and qualified for the final series of the Basketball Bundesliga. The team of head coach Tuomas Iisalo won 82:73 (35:36) at the MHP giants Ludwigsburg.
After ratiopharm Ulm, Telekom Baskets Bonn also won their playoff semifinals with three victories and qualified for the final series of the Basketball Bundesliga. The team of head coach Tuomas Iisalo won 82:73 (35:36) at the MHP giants Ludwigsburg.
After 1997, 1999, 2001, 2008 and 2009, the Rhinelanders are in the BBL finals for the sixth time in their club history.
The Bonners often lost the ball at the beginning, but in the middle of the second quarter they pulled away a bit with a 13-0 run. Thanks to Will Cherry, Ludwigsburg came back and reduced the lead to 35:36 at the break.
Thanks to intensive defense and good rebound work, the Swabians stayed in the game, but at the end of the third round they had to do without their previous top scorer after two unsportsmanlike fouls by Cherry. The guests gained momentum at the beginning of the final section with three successful three-pointers, Ludwigsburg could no longer find their way into the game offensively, and TJ Shorts (20 points) took over for Bonn in the final phase.
The first final of the best-of-five series will take place in Bonn next Friday. Neither Bonn nor Ulm have ever won the German championship. In addition, for the first time since 2009, Brose Bamberg, Alba Berlin or FC Bayern Munich are not in the finals of the basketball Bundesliga.