The Bulgarian basketball champion Balkan (Botevgrad) started its new season in the Eurocup with a defeat. On their visit to Germany, the Botevgrad team lost to the local Ulm with 84:98 (17:31, 22:23, 20:21, 23:25).
The hosts took the initiative from the very beginning. Three-pointers by Aiby Watson and Devin Schmidt provided an early lead for Ulm, which increased to 31:17 by the end of the first quarter. The German team's powerful play continued in the following minutes, and in the middle of the second period their lead reached 16 points (44:28) after an accurate shot from long distance by Armel Traore.
In the third period, Ulm led by its largest margin of the match - 18 points (75:57). At this point, Balkan demonstrated character and held a strong series thanks to successful attacks by Javante McCoy, Darnell Edge and Yura Melikyan. Although they reduced some of their deficit, the guests were never able to achieve a complete turnaround. In the end, Armel Traore scored the final 98:84 for the German team.
The key to Ulm's success was the excellent percentage in three-point shooting (46.4%), while in the controlled fights under the basket, the two teams finished completely tied - 33 each.
For the winners, Abby Watson was the most useful with 19 points. For Balkan, above all, was Javante McCoy, who played a great game and scored 32 points, and his teammate Darnell Edge scored 18 points.