Playing in the Hessen Derby in the Osthalle is always something extremely fascinating with the Frankfurt-Giessen rivalries like a Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees, Boca Juniors-River Plate or AC Milan-Inter Milan battle, because it doesn´t only bring out the best in the players, but also with the fans. The Osthalle is never an easy place to play in because the location can be as hostel and brutal as being stuck on 5th avenue in New York in rush hour, having to survive the blizzard of 78 in New England or hanging out in front of Yankees stadium after a New York loss and chanting New York sucks. The atmosphere was incredible as usual and stayed in the heads of the players, but The Deutsche Bank Skyliners had less problems as they out played the Giessen 46ers 81-62. “The atmosphere was great and the perfect place to play a derby game. The atmosphere in Giessen beat many big places in the league”, added Skyliner forward Kimmo Muurinen. “I had played in many tough places in the PRO A, but I had never really experienced a place like Giessen. We had great support from the fans tonight”, said  Skyliner Air Canada Jevohn Shepherd. “It was a derby game, but we didnt give the fans anything to cheer about. If we dont play well then they are not satisfied which effects the atmosphere. I  have played in a better atmosphere”, stated Giessen forward Elvir Ovcina. Frankfurt won their fifth game in a row and keep showing that they are the second best team in the BEKO BBL. “We simply sucked tonight. We could´t execute on offense or defense. We let them do what they wanted to. We play harder in practice. They outworked us and deserved to win”, stated Giessen 46er guard Michael Jordan. Frankfurt continues to look like a fine tuned Ferrari thats ready to win the Monte Caro Grand Prix. “It all looks so easy for us because we have  a great coach who prepares us well with the game plan. We play for each other”, stated new Canadian national player Jevohn Shepherd.

Despite all these hardships of having to come to terms with the crowd in the Osthalle, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have had massive fortune playing in Giessen as the last time Frankfurt had lost in the Osthalle had been December 2002 as the teams were called Opel Skyliners and Avitos Giessen, Kai Nurnberger was barking the signals at the point, Justin Bieber was only 7 years old, American actor Charlie Sheen was still somewhat sane, or Boston Red Sox fans were still mulling the possibility of going through life never ever seeing a World Series win. Frankfurt had had some fond memories in the last years as ex Skyliner Alex King had had one of his best games in 2008 and who could forget the Frankfurt 93-63 trouncing in 2005 as American Desmond Ferguson nailed 7 three pointers. March 5th, 2011 remained a very good memory for Gordon Herbert and company as the long winless drought for Giessen continued. “It is hard to say what it is winning 8 times in a row here with the team always changing so much through the years, but one could call it luck. It is simply a good thing for Frankfurt”, stressed Kimmo Muurinen. “Frankfurt really has been dominating in Giessen over the years. This is one of the hardest places to play in the league, but apparently not for Frankfurt”, commented ex MBC guard Michael Jordan.
The Giessen season has had three parts with a great start going 5-2, but it was in Frankfurt at the start of the season where American sharp shooter Anthony Smith went down with an injury. This mishap started the second part of the season where the club was unable to buy a win as the traditional team lost 13 games in a row. The club then made changes bringing in American coach Steven Key, Michael Jordan and 2001 NBA draft pick Maurice Jeffers.  Key coached the Duesseldorf Magic for two years and recently in the States in the WNBA. Key has come in as if he has been  apart of the BEKO BBL the last years. I have always been following the league and I felt comfortable taking over for Vladi Bogojevic. It is never easy coming in in the middle of the season. We have  a good team and they have done a good job accepting me, but we need to find more consistency”, warned Giessen head coach Steven Key. Since the change the team is 2-4 and the misfortune seems to still be plaguing the team. “Since I have been here we have been up and down. We played well against Oldenburg, kept pace with Bamberg for three quarters, but then in Ulm by 20 points. We scored only three points in the fourth quarter in Bamberg. We started the fourth quarter with a few mistakes which cost us as Suput him some three pointers and they got easy baskets. This was like a body blow in a boxing match where we lost all our air and couldnt get back in game. We have to find a way to be more consistent on defense in the last 8 games”, stressed Steven Key. As the season started, the team looked strong on paper, but with the additions of Jordan and Jeffers, the club has more depth to the roster which should lead to a few more wins. “We were lacking leadership and experience and only had Ovcina. But we got a great leader with Jordan and got added experience with Jeffers. They have been helping the young players”, said Steven Key.
The Giessen 46ers don´t only have their loud fans, but also team mascots Fabi and Fabius who bring their tem luck. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have their beloved Dunking Kong that doesn´t make the road games, but shortly before the game started, a big Lego like figure appeared in the Skyliner Skybembels area displaying a rascal like grin and having the #14 of Marius Nolte on his jersey. If this is a new mascot or just a carnival prank is unknown, but the big creature was noticeable to some players. “That Lego man was cool. he had a very vicious smile. That lego man did look like Marius and the more I looked at him the more he looked like him”, joked Kimmo Muurinen. “I liked the Lego man. That showed how big our fan support was having something like that there”, added Skyliner forward Jevohn Shepherd. The first quarter had two faces as the Giessen 46ers got off to the faster start as they led 9-4 quickly as they found their rhythm quicker. Muurinen did start off the game with one of his current favorite plays the penetration as teams still haven´t caught this strength in the scouting. Chris Moss who has been quiet on offense in the last games got active scoring inside earl. However Giessen had more fire power displaying a Anthony Smith three pointer and Zachery Peacock jumper. Giessen then took something out of the Frankfurt play book with the extra pass as Jordan found Peacock who didn´t finish, but opted for an extra feed to young German Tim Schwartz who finished with  a two handed dunk.
Skyliner coach Gordon Herbert took a time out and when his team returned to the floor, they exploded and prompt went on a 15-2 run to lead 19-11 after one quarter. Frankfurt was able to set the tempo and played very smart basketball which was led by point guard Wood who got the Frankfurt offense rolling and it would never loose its rhythm again in the game.  Dashaun Wood was involved with the next three Frankfurt buckets as he nailed a three pointer, then found Moss for two points an dthen made a steal and made the easy transition basket. Moss then made a reverse lay up and Frankfurt continued to get support from many faces as Muurinen was back in the scoring department after starting the game with a lay up, the Finn now made a beautiful high rainbow jumper over Ovcina and then came into the lane as the trailer scooping up a perfect no look pass from Wood. Powell ended the first quarter with a hard fought offensive rebound and put back. “We had a good start leading 9-4. Frankfurt then went on a 15-2 run. We made bad plays and weren´t bale to get back into the game”, said Elvir Ovcina. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were shooting 56% from the field and 20% from outside while The Giessen 46ers were shooting 38% from the field and 33% from outside. Frankfurt had the 7-5 rebound edge and only three turnovers while The Giessen 46ers had three turnovers.
In the second quarter, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were able to keep their comfortable 10 point lead despite Giessen trying to cut the lead down a bit, Frankfurt was consistent enough on offense to keep the lead up. Frankfurt also was alert making incredible shots with hands in their face. Roger Powell made a brilliant fade away three pointer as the shot clock wound down and American Jimmy Mckinney made a bomb form outside as Ovcina was breathing down his neck. Smith cut the Frankfurt lead down to 24-16 with a three pointer. However Frankfurt kept pouring it on continously led by current top BEKO BBL leadings corer Dashaun Wood who kept doing damage inside with an off balance floater and lay up as Frankfurt led 31-19. One guy that Frankfurt had big problems stopping mid way through the second quarter was Ovcina who scored 7 consecutive Giessen points all inside. The prettiest was on a fast break as Peacock secured the rebound made a long pass to the big Bosnien who went 2 on 1 with German Schwartz who faked a pass and finished himself and suddenly Frankfurt led only 33-26.
Frankfurt finished the second quarter on a 5-2 run to go into halftime 38-28. New Skyliner Shepherd got his first BEKO BBL points with a hard drive to the hoop. “I felt good tonight. The guys helped me talking to me on the court. It is an adjustment to the PRO A as the style of play here is more physical and the players are smarter”, added Jevohn Shepherd. “Shepherd did all right tonight. He is very athletic and the more he is with the team the more that he will help the team”, warned Michael Jordan. “Frankfurt continued to have the lead and we came back a few times cutting the lead to 6-7 points. But we couldn´t get any closer because we continued to make mistakes. You cant play like that because a team like Frankfurt will always punish you”, warned Elvir Ovcina. “We played the typical Frankfurt game in the first half”, added Kimmo Muurinen. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were shooting 52% from the field and 22% from the three point line while The Giessen 46ers were shooting 45% from the field and 29% from the three point line. Frankfurt had the 16-11 rebound lead and only 6 turnovers while Giessen had 11 turnovers.
The Giessen 46ers were able to keep up with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners in the first half, but in the second half, Frankfurt was able to heighten their lead and easily get another win on the road. Wood showed his scoring explosiveness as he took Frankfurt on a mini 4-0 run in the first 37 seconds prompting Steven Key to take a time out. Wood started the scoring in the third quarter with one of his patent lay ins where defense was no where in sight. Wood then came between a pass that was chosen for Jordan as he sprinted down for another easy lay up. “Wood is a great player. It is not just hiss coring but his decision making is superb. He is one of the best players in the league”, said Elvir Ovcina. “Wood had a good game. We knew what he would do, but just couldn´t stop him. You need to be physical with him, but we just let him walk down the lane. You have to challenge Wood to take jumpers to be successful”, warned Michael Jordan.  Frankfurt continued keeping the pressure on on offense going on a 10-1 run to lead 49-33 as the Ost halle was getting extremely quiet. Mckinney hit some jumpers and Powell continued to improve his dismal 24% three point shooting percentage. After a Peacock lay up, Frankfurt went on a another big run of 10-0 which was sparked by 8 Powell points as Frankfurt led 59-35 and no one believed on a Giessen come back on this day. Powell hit two additional three pointers and made a pretty play on the corner making a shot fake on Smith who flew by him and the American then proceeded to fly from the base line and make a soft one handed dunk.Giessen then went on a mini 6-2 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to 61-41. American Ryan Brooks made two three pointers, but Wood made a nifty cross over by Brooks laying the ball in with his left hand. Frankfurt then finished the third quarter with a 8-1 run to lead 69-42 after three quarters. Wood continued to be in the zone as he scored three consecutive hoops showing his penetration domination setting the Frankfurt fans in awe with every play he did. It also wasnt non typical to see Giessen fans in dispair on their faces with every continued basket by Wood. ” We weren´t ready as we came back on the floor in the third quarter. They got the big lead and the game was decided after 25 minutes”, stressed Elvir Ovcina. “I think it was our defensive intensity that was key in extending our lead in the third quarter”, expressed Kimmo Muurinen. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were shooting 60% from the field and 42% from the parking lot. The Giessen 46ers were shooting 43% from the field and 38% from the parking lot. Frankfurt had the 23-14 rebound edge and only 9 turnovers while Giessen had 17 turnovers.
The Giessen 46ers showed their best game in the fourth quarter winning it 20-12, but on account of the big Frankfurt lead were unable to make any real damage in the big Frankfurt lead. The fourth quarter was dominated by ally-ops and dunks which gave the fans some fun in the meaningless game at that point. Giessen started strong on a 5-0 run as Brooks nailed another three pointer and German Jannik Freese hit two free throws. Then out of the blue came tow fantastic ally ops. The first had Michael Jordan finding an undetected Ryan Brooks sky high and dunk home his pass. New Skyliner Shepherd then was fed by a perfect Wood pass for the jam. “Wood has quick eyes. I pointed up and didn´t think he saw me, but all of a sudden the pass was there”, added Jevohn Shepherd. Giessen then went on a 6-2 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to 75-55. Frankfurt got a bit careless in the forth quarter giving up too many offensive boards. Smith made a put back grabbing an offensive rebound and then drove through the zone in the air dunking and Ovcina scored in the lane with his left hand. The ally op fest wasnt over and fans might have been awaiting a Super Tez or Powell dunk, but instead it was Kimmo Muurinen who skyed high dunking home an ally op. “That was my first one handed ally op dunk which was cool. I hope to see that dunk on the Skyliners homepage”, laughed Kimmo Muurinen. “The ally ops were nice for the fans in a 30 point game”, added Elvir Ovcina.  Giessen continued doing a good job on the offensive boards as little used Dirk Madrich made a put back. With a little more than a minute t play, Skyliner skipper Gordon Herbert put in Fabian Franke and and 20 year old Benedikt Nicolay who made his BEKO BBL debut going 0/1 from outside. Anthony Smith finished the scoring in the game with a dunk as Frankfurt won 81-62.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were led by Dashaun Wood with 28 points, five rebounds and six assists. Roger Powell added 18 points and five rebounds. Jimmy Mckinney added 11 points. The Giessen 46ers were led by Ryan Brooks with 17 points. Elvir Ovcina added 15 points. Anthony Smith chipped in with 12 points. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners shot 55% from the field and dominated the points in the paint 42-22 and rebounding 31-24. Frankfurt held The Giessen 46ers to only 62 points and it would have been less had the home team not stepped it up in the last quarter. Effort seems to be the key word for a big part of the success of Frankfurt this season. “They play for each other on defense. They have a lot of energy. Without energy, you can´t play good defense. They have a fighting attitude and you feel that they really want to stop you. They looked like a team and we did not. They wanted to win so much more than us”, stressed Elvir Ovcina. Skyliner forward Jevohn Shepherd knew what the biggest strength of the night was for Frankfurt and was also the unexpected strength of the evening. “Playing together on offense and defense was our biggest asset tonight”, added Jevohn Shepherd. “Jevohn Shepherd was an unexpected good thing tonight. He blended in well so quickly and was a positive surprise. he will really help us”, warned Kimmo Muurinen. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners host BG Goettingen on March 12th at 20:00.