Ulm picks up second win

U18 ratiopharm Ulm collected its second victory of the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Valencia by defeating U18 Herbalife Gran Canaria 58-70. Andrija Grbovic led the way with 17 points for Ulm, which improved to 2-1 in Group A and will play for third place in Valencia. Jeremy Sochan added 15 points and 17 rebounds and Jacob Ensminger picked up 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists in the win. Gran Canaria, which finished first in this event last season, dropped to 1-2 in the group despite Kany Tchanda tallying 13 points and Jean Montero adding 10 points and 5 assists.

Ulm jumped out to a 2-6 lead before Amadou Doumbia gave Gran Canaria its first lead 7-6. Ensminger drained a triple and David Fuchs had a three-point play as the German side ended the first quarter on a 2-7 run to go up 12-18 after 10 minutes. After two Tchanda free throws, Gran Canaria went scoreless for more than 5 minutes as Ulm used a 0-13 run for a 14-31 advantage. Another Ensminger triple had the margin at 16-35. Gran Canaria closed the first half with a 9-2 spurt to pull within 25-37 at intermission.

Ulm was still leading 30-43 when Tchanda scored five points and Gran Canaria was within 39-45. But Grbovic knocked down three three-pointers within 76 seconds and Ulm was ahead 39-54. And it was 42-54 after 30 minutes. Gran Canaria scored the first four points of the final frame only to see Sochan hit four points of his own and Ulm’s cushion was 46-60. The German side wasted a 14-point third quarter lead in an opening game loss to U18 FC Barcelona and watched as Gran Canaria twice trim the margin to eight points but each time was able to counter with an answer against Gran Canaria.