The Spanish side dominated in all departments against ratiopharm Ulm as the gulf in class was all too apparent.
Gran Canaria’s depth continues to be a problem for its opponents
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The BKT EuroCup Group B clash between Dreamland Gran Canaria and ratiopharm Ulm was designated to be the most promising fixture in the second round of the competition’s regular season. After all, last year’s EuroCup winner was coming up against the German champions, which headed into the contest still buzzing from last season’s exploits.
It boiled down to one-way traffic, however, as Ulm, which won its first-ever Bundesliga title and reached the EuroCup quarterfinals last term, went down tamely 111-82 to a superior rival. Gran Canaria showed in no uncertain terms that it is a strong favorite to win back-to-back EuroCup titles, with selfless teamwork putting Ulm to the sword.
One-way traffic
The hosts mixed fast breaks and sound long-range shooting with spells of ironclad defense when it mattered, putting the game beyond Ulm’s reach as they romped into a 62-36 halftime lead and never looked back. Ulm showed some pride and grit to slash the deficit in the third quarter, 84-68, but a 14-2 run by Granca early in the fourth quickly restored the tide that swept away the visitors.
Ulm head coach Anton Gavel had no excuses after seeing his team reduced to rubble. “We got our butts kicked, with the exception of a couple of minutes in the third quarter,” Gavel said during his post-game press conference.
“Conceding 17 out of 18 two-points shots in the first half was unacceptable; they were making fun of us and scored after behind-the-back passes and that kind of stuff. We were incapable of defending anything. This is the level when you play against the champions and we have to learn from it.”
Gavel’s Gran Canaria counterpart Jaka Lakovic, who is usually stingy with compliments, heaped praise on his men. “Congratulations to the team, it was a good effort and a good mindset,” he stated. “We played a very good first half, but when we thought the game was over, Ulm came back and slashed it to 15 points in the third quarter. Then we stepped up again in the fourth and won the game deservedly. We have a lot of respect for Ulm, they are the German champions and they’ve got a very good coach.”
A staggering 29 assists epitomized Granca’s performance, with Ferran Bassas emerging as the top scorer with 21 points. All 12 of the home team’s players netted points and the hosts finished on 29-of-38 (78.4% 2FG) from two-point range, as well as 12-of-28 (42.9% 3FG) from beyond the three-point arc.