Ulm edged past Balkan 98 to 84 in the EuroCup on Tuesday evening, keeping their campaign on track. The hosts finished seven points clear after a full forty minutes of play. It was a result we had tipped at 72 percent confidence before the game, and the home side delivered when it mattered.
They kept their composure through the opening period, building a small cushion that never really wavered. And here's the thing — you can see it in the way they rotated players, keeping legs fresh without losing structure. Balkan pushed back harder in the second quarter but could not find a rhythm.
The visitors showed more urgency after the break, cutting the gap to single digits at one stage. By then the home side had already gone into control, and they refused to let the game slip away. To be fair, Balkan created enough chances to stay in it, but they lacked the finishing touch.
We called for this outcome because Ulm have been steady at home all season, and Balkan travel poorly on the road. Their last five outings in Europe tell the same story — narrow defeats, close margins, nothing decisive. The hosts, meanwhile, picked up wins against Fenerbahçe and Phoenix Hagen in recent weeks.
Ulm remain seventh after eighteen games, with seven victories and eleven defeats to their name. Balkan's record does not improve much, but they have now played five matches against Lokomotiv Plovdiv alone across May and June, which says something about their schedule.
The scoreline is respectable for the visitors, but the result keeps Ulm in the hunt. They will need to maintain this level if they want to move up the table. One game at a time, and they are not done yet.
