
The quest for possibility sneaking into the easyCredit BBL continued to dip in the opposite direction as the Skyliners continued to lose games in the last weeks moving to position 15 with 4 wins away from the 8th place. The season seemed over with 3 games to play and matters worsened last weekend in the game against ex Euroleague team Alba Berlin when Frankfurt lost their two most experienced BBL players with German Til Pappe and Will Christmas to injury ending their seasons. With 2 home games remaining pride was on the menu for the Skyliners. However their challenge didn´t get any easier with the Telekom Baskets Bonn who were having a great season sitting in position 4 with a record of 19-12 and were riding a 3 game winning streak. On a very mild first of May 2026, the Skyliners welcomed Bonn and their 800 very loud fans who filled one fourth of the arena. Their team didn´t disappoint as Bonn gave full power for 40 minutes destroying the Skyliners 104-72. The team already had 10 guys score in the first quarter and just displayed pretty team basketball with unselfish play. “We had a lot on the line. We wanted to get the home court advantage in the playoffs as well as have our fans leave the arena happy. We did a good job sharing the ball and limiting turnovers. We played together on defense and kept our energy and effort up for 40 minutes stressed Telekom Baskets Bonn American Alijah Comithier (201-G-2001, college: Emporia St.). The Skyliners played good stretches of basketball, but overall couldn´t find consistency and had massive problems on the closeout all afternoon long. “it was a game of runs today. I thought we played well, but Bonn is a really good team. I´m still proud of my team and how they played despite 2 key guys being out. We obviously have a lot we need to improve on the defensive end”, stressed Skyliner Jacob Holt.

Jacob Holt at the FT line
The Telekom Baskets Bonn didn´t disappoint their fans cruising out on a rapid 9-4 lead as they shared the ball early getting a put back dunk from ex Skyliner Michael Kessens, a 20 footer from ex Vechta guard Joel Aminu and a trey from ex Boston College (NCAA) forward Patrick Heckmann. Frankfurt got some fine early energy from athletic freak Logan Johnson with a mega block and steal, but his teammates couldn´t match his intensity. Canadian Jacob Holt added 4 points early getting into a grove as he would end the game as the team´s top scorer with 17 points. “The BBL is a lot more physical than the NBL. I knew that I had to step up my game with Till Pape out. My success today is a testament to my work ethic”, smiled Jacob Holt. Bonn had guys coming from the bench keeping the energy and execution up. Ex Northern Kentucky University (NCAA) forward Jeff Garret ripped home a three pointer while ex Temple Universaity (NCAA) big man Kur Jongkuch made a lob dunk as Bonn was showing their fine inside out game leading 16-7. Frankfurt´s offense was sputtering while Bonn´s defense forced the Skyliners to turnovers which led to baskets from ex Georgia Southern (NCAA) guard Jalen Finch with a 20 footer and ex Barry University (NCAA2) guard Tylan Birts made a lay in for the comfortable 20-7 lead. Holt continued to be aggressive making a put back dunk while German Radii Casin showed his three point shooting efficiency and Frankfurt trailed 24-12. However Bonn´s explosive offense wasn´t done yet as Comithier made a steal and dunk and ex Belmont University (NCAA) guard Grayson Murphy made a lay for the lethal 28-16 lead after 10 minutes. “Bonn showed how good they were with their individual talent as well as with their team play. They played very fast and moved the ball well. We gave up too many easy baskets”, said Jacob Holt. The Telekom Baskets Bonn shot 50% from the field and 33% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 2 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 31% from the field and 13% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Ryan Hawkins from outside
In the second quarter the Skyliners upped their offense as three´s began to fall as Radii Casin kept his team in the game as the Telekom Baskets Bonn led 49-41 at half-time. The Skyliners began hot stroking the Telekom Baskets Bonn with a 8-3 run to trail only 31-24. Frankfurt got 5 points from ex UCLA (NCAA) guard Tyger Campbell and a trey from ex Creighton (NCAA) forward Ryan Hawkins. However the Frankfurt run didn´t jolt Bonn as they punched back with a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 38-24. Bonn got a beautiful lay in with Murphy who played a little give and go with Heckmann and Garrett delivered another three pointer. Frankfurt stayed calm and got incredible support from Casin that hit back to back three´s as the Skyliners trailed 39-30. But Frankfurt just couldn´t get closer as both teams continued to trade baskets. Comithier was on fire in the last minutes adding 7 points while Frankfurt got a lay in from Holt and another trey from Casin to trail 47-37. *The Skyliners got a 15 footer from ex Virginia Tech (NCAA) guard Nahiem Alleyne and free throws from Casin to trail 47-41. Bonn executed on their last possession of the first half as Jalen Finch made a lay in once again easily beating the Skyliners lax 1-1 defense. The Telekom Baskets Bonn shot 50% from the field and 27% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 5 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 37% from the field and 32% from the three point line and had 19 rebounds and 7 turnovers. “We brought up our intensity and scramble defense in the run. That is how we have to defend all the time”, added Jacob Holt.

Alijah Comithier with the lay in
The Skyliners had one good phase in the third quarter where they cut the Telekom Baskets Bonn lead down to 6 points, but once again, they couldn´t get more consistency into their game as a run helped Bonn gain the bigger lead from which Frankfurt couldn´t recover from. Bonn began with a lightening 5-0 run to lead 54-41 as Amino dropped a trey and Heckmann made free throws. Holt then kept up his stellar play plowing through a Bonn wall for the lay in. Frankfurt then played top notch defense getting 6 stops while controlling the defensive rebound better and received 5 points as Holt added 3 points and Hawkins a lay in on transition to trail 54-48. But as usual on this afternoon, the Telekom Baskets Bonn always had an answer and got back to supplying a well oiled machine closing out the third quarter with a devastating 16-5 run totally breaking open the game and leading 70-53 after 3 quarters. Bonn got consistent effort from Jalen Finch as he found his spots well scoring 6 points while Birts was a real energy machine adding a trey and lay in while Jongkuch lived on the rim making an offensive rebound and put back. Frankfurt couldn´t muster more offense than a Hawkins trey and Campbell free throws. “We made no adjustments after Frankfurt´s little run. Basketball is a game of runs. We weathered the storm and we knew we had to get that intensity level back to keep a level head”, commented Alijah Comithier. “We had a good start and everyone did their job. But they finished the quarter strong going on a run. We had too many turnovers and bad transition defense”, stated Jacob Holt.

Michael Kessens at the FT line
The Telekom Baskets Bonn had no let down in the last quarter, but actually scored it´s most points in the game totaling 34 points as every player on the 11 man roster scored. The Skyliners tried to make a dent in the lead early as Alleyne suddenly got the hot hand dropping 2 three pointers to trail 74-59. But once again that didn´t startle Bonn as they punched back with a 11-3 run to lead 85-62. In the run the guests got support from so many different guys as JongKuch continued to be a menace inside getting a nifty alley-oop dunk and lay in while Murphy made a lay in, Comithier a lay in on transition and Finch a trey. Swope then made a mini statement with a trey to trail 85-65, but Bonn just never took their feet off the gas pedal and closed out the game with a stellar 19-7 run to win easily. Murphy and Birts added free throws Jonathan Baehre scored his first points of the game that gave Bonn a perfect 11/11 in team scoring. Comithier never slowed down scoring 5 points in a row while Birts hit a trey and Murphy another lay in. Frankfurt was already in serious lax mood in the last few minutes as Bonn closed out the game with a vicious 10-0 run. “You always play until the final buzzer sounds no matter the score. Frankfurt is a good team. If we hadn´t played until the end then it would have been a different story”, stressed Alijah Comithier. “It was tough for us. Guys were playing more minutes than usual. They played hard for 40 minutes”, added Jacob Holt. The Telekom Baskets Bonn had 7 guys score in double figures led by Alijah Comithier with 17 points. Jalen Finch added 16 points and Tylan Birts 12 points while the Skyliners were led by Jacob Holt with 17 points and Radii Casin with 16 points. The Telekom Baskets Bonn shot 51% from the field and 28% from outside and had 47 rebounds and 9 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 34% from the field and 30% from outside and had 32 rebounds and 16 turnovers.

















