The Polish side gave its fans something to cheer in what has been a complicated season.
Slask shocks Ulm to grab first home win, 100-88



Slask Wroclaw grabbed its first home win of the 2023-24 BKT EuroCup season when it defeated visiting ratiopharm Ulm 100-88 at Hala Orbita on Wednesday night. The hosts set the foundations for its victory with a great second quarter, in which they scored 31 points to lead 52-37 at halftime. Ulm attempted to come back several times in the second half, but Slask used a strong fourth quarter to prevent the visitors from getting closer than 5 points. Slask improved to 2-12, while Ulm slips to 8-6 after suffering its third loss in a row.
Dusan Miletic led the winners with 19 points, going perfect from behind the arc and adding 4 rebounds and 3 assists for a PIR of 26. Artsiom Parakhouski followed with 14 points, while Andrii Voinalovych and Mateusz Zebsky netted 13 points apiece. New Slask signing Marek Klassen had a 13-point, 10-assist double-double on his debut. Hassani Gravett completed a Slask six-player group scoring in double figures with 12 points. Karim Jallow paced Ulm with 22 points and 4 assists, Thomas Klepeisz finished with 15 points, LJ Figueroa chipped in 14, and Trevion Williams flirted with a triple-double by recording 12 points, 14 boards and 8 assists.
Slask started slow, soared in the second period
Juan Nunez fed the visitors’ offense with a bucket and a timely assist for Jallow’s triple, which established an early 3-5 edge for Ulm. The guests displayed a balanced performance attacking the rim, with four different contributors when the score was 9-13 midway through the first period. The hosts were not fazed, though, and found Miletic and Zebski as its main weapons to earn a 18-16 lead after sparking a 9-3 run in less than 3 minutes. Klepeisz showed up from downtown to break the trend, but Aleksander Wisnieski replied from the same place to keep Slask in front, 21-19, after 10 minutes.
The home team continued punishing the visitors from deep, as back-to-back triples by Klassen and Gravett extended the gap to 31-24, forcing Ulm to call for a timeout. The answer came from the hands of Williams, who took over with 6 points in a row as he tried to bring Ulm back into the game. But the hosts were very sound offensively and made it a double-digit advantage, 42-32, when Voinalovych nailed his third trey. Things got even worse for the guests when Parakhouski showed up inside for Slask, providing 6 points in a 10-2 run that lifted the home team to a 15-point difference, 52-37, at halftime.
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Ulm reacted but fell short in the end
Ulm made the most of the break, coming out with a renewed spirit after the intermission. Figueroa and Klepeisz turned the lights on for the visitors, combining for 3 triples and 11 points to bring their team within 56-48 early in the third period. Williams got Ulm even closer, 58-52, with an inside bucket soon after to make it a ballgame once again. Zebski came to the rescue with 5 points in a row, followed by a lucky off-the-glass three-pointer by Miletic that returned a double-digit margin to Slask, 68-56, and aborted the visitors’ rally. A late push by Ulm behind a 1-7 run to end the third quarter allowed the visitors to stay alive, 70-62, entering the last stanza.
Klassen and Miletic opened fire from behind the arc early in the fourth, good for a 76-64 advantage for the home side. Ulm hit back with a strong 0-7 run capped by a three by Klepeisz to make it 76-71, but the rally didn’t go further because of Miletic’ timely contribution. The Serbian center hit twice from deep and added a two and a free throw to help Slask hold off Ulm, 87-78. That wouldn’t be the last time the visitors tried to come back, though, as Figueroa made it 89-83 from behind the arc a few minutes later. Slask remained cold-blooded, though, with Gravett and Klassen drilling back-to-back threes to put the game on ice, 96-86, entering the last minute.