The last time that German national player Johannes Herber played in the Paul Horn arena, Bane Ratkovica was still performing his playmaking magic, Dane Watts was flying to the hoop with his long hair like surfer dude Jeff Spicolli, Chris Oliver was displaying his quick first step from the baseline and Kenny Wiliams was inserting fear  with his harsh demeanour despite not moving a face muscle and still having that lovable smooth going Miami character, but when the Darmstadt native Herber walked on the court during warm-ups, he had to look around for a while before seeing some recognizable faces like Nicolai Simon or Ruben Spoeden. After a less than satisfactory showing against Oldenburg, the German wanted to return back to his old stomping ground and help delay the transformation of the Tiger NCAA babies of Duggins, Nash and Hodzic as his shot still wasn´t falling consistently, but his defense was strong as he helped the Fraport Skyliners secure their first win of the season in  a hard fought 73-67 victory in the pink jungle of Tuebingen. “I was happy to be back and get a win here. It is never easy to win in Tuebingen. It was nice to see that Ruben Spoden is playing well as well as Akeem Vargas getting minutes. As for my self, I seem to have my lost my rhythm a bit, but I am not worrying. I contributed with good plays”, stressed Johannes Herber. The game featured four NCAA rookies with Skyliner Jon Leuer being the most known of the bunch. “I played against Nash in the NCAA. I don´t remember him hitting three pointers like that. He will help them a lot this season”, added 2011 NBA pick Jon Leuer. It was the first professional game of ex Wright State guard Vaughn Duggins and he was amazed with the crowd input. “The atmosphere was amazing and the fans really touched my heart. They gave us unconditional love and you want to feed off that and give back. It was too bad we couldn´t reward them with a win”, stressed Vaughn Duggins. “Their youngs guys played well. Nash hit big shots and Young showed he can run the team and play good defense. I was a cheerleader today. I really wanted to play, but I just try to stay positive and cheer the guys on”, commented Beko BBL rookie Michael Thompson.

For The Walter Tigers Tuebingen, it was their first game of the season and they knew that a win would be crucial since their schedule doesn´t get any easier in the next weeks with Munich, Artland and Bamberg, while the Fraport Skyliners were reeling of a very disappointing opening game loss against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and wanted to rebound with a big win on the road. The Fraport Skyliners controlled the first half, but the Walter Tigers Tuebingen never gave up went on runs in the second half and cut the lead down to three points with a minute to play, but were unable to come out with a win at the end in crunch time. “We came out sluggish in the first 5-8 minutes, but then tightened up on offense and defense. We fought back in the second half, but mistakes at the end like the switch on Leuer and the in bound pass from Young hurt us”, stressed Canadian Velimir Radinovic. The Fraport Skyliners were just thrilled that they were able to escape the tigers den unscathed and see a big 1 in the win column. “I am just happy we won this game. I thought we played well as a team even though we allowed Tuebingen to get back into the game. Our big strength tonight was that even in the most critical situations, we remained calm and were able to execute our plays”, warned Skyliner captain Marius Nolte.

The Fraport Skyliners got the quick 2-0 lead as Jon Leuer gave Beko BBl rookie Adnan Hodzic a warm greeting with a step up jumper over him. Then both teams felt each other out a bit with no points being scored. However it was the Fraport Skyliners that found their rhythm first as they pounced on the Tigers going on a 11-2 run to take a 13-2 lead. The unexpected hero in this run was young 20 year old German Danilo Barthel who racked up 8 points and amazement by fans. “Coach told me shortly before the game that I would start. He told me to defend well and do the easy things well. That I was able to score three easy baskets on the pick and roll was great. Tez gave me a perfect pass on the dunk. My four fouls weren´t good, but I am a young player and still need to learn a lot”, added Danilo Barthel. Captain Marius Nolte had unending praise for the ex USC Heidelberg player. “I am really happy how Danilo played. He was one of few players that played well against Oldenburg. Coach gave him the confidence by letting him start and I think his play early sparked the team”, stated Marius Nolte. Frankfurt was playing steady defense forcing Tuebingen to low percentage shots. Down the stretch, Herber hit a pull up jumper and Justin Gray ended the first quarter with a buzzer beater as the Fraport Skyliners led 19-7. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 53% from the field and 50% from outside while The Walter Tigers Tuebingen were shooting a miserable 11% from the field and 0% from outside. Frankfurt had the 8-7 rebound edge and two turnovers while Tuebingen had five turnovers.

The Fraport Skyliners continued to have control in the second quarter as their offense continued to buzz like a bee hive while the Walter Tigers Tuebingen continued to struggle on offense. Frankfurt got big buckets inside from Jimmy Mckinney and Justin Gray and the club displayed perfect team basketball as Nolte scored inside after German national player Tim Ohlbrecht opted to pass on a shot and fed the other German for an easy layup. Tuebingen got a big coast to coast hoop from young German Akeem Vargas and a three pointer from Tyrone Nash to cut the Frankfurt lead to 28-18, but Frankfurt didn´t allow the Tigers to go on a run yet as Jimmy Mckinney showed time in and time out that he had the hot hand with a three pointer as Frankfurt continued to lead comfortable 32-19. After Lou Campbell and Jon Leuer traded baskets, it was time for Rueben Spoden to jump out of his shell and contribute two buckets in the last minute as Tuebingen trailed only 35-26. This is the second year for Spoden in Tuebingen and he seems to be making strides as well. “I had a good preseason. I know I can play offense, but have to improve my defense. I practiced against Dane Watts each day last season and that really has helped. I am not afraid to make mistakes and know what I have to do to be successful. However I would rather have scored 0 points and have gotten the win”, expressed Ruben Spoden. Justin Gray closed out the second quarter with a basket as the Fraport Skyliners went into halftime with the 38-26 lead. “Key in the second quarter was getting back on transition and playing 5-5 and our zone was working”, added Justin Gray. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 47% from the field and 30% from the three point line while The Walter Tigers Tuebingen were shooting 25% from the field and only 17% from the three point line. Tuebingen had the big 22-15 rebound edge, but nine turnovers while Frankfurt had only four turnovers.

Tigers coach Igor Perovic must of selected the right words, because his team didn´t come out heavy, sluggish and full, but hungry and alert and went on a startling 9-0 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to only 38-35. Tuebingen had stepped up their defense and stopped the first four Skyliner offensive sets forcing two turnovers and their potent defense resulted in their offense executing more consistently. Campbell started the run with a dunk on a fast break which was followed by a Nash jumper and Duggins layup. However Frankfurt had an answer to combat the Tuebingen run. Last season it was Dashaun Wood who would pull the Skyliners out of precarious situations and this season it is Justin Gray. Gray contributed nine points and quickly was able to get the Frankfurt lead back to 51-42. “It was like in preseason. Gray carried the team and made tough shots”, commented Danilo Barthel. “Gray was key in the third quarter. We were unable to get him out of his game”, added Ruben Spoden.  Mckinney also helped in getting the lead back up with a pull up jumper. After three quarter, The Fraport Skyliners still had the 53-45 lead. “We felt to sure coming into the third quarter. This is something that you can´t let happen in this arena”, said Marius Nolte. “Tuebingen fought back. We started to execute better with pick and rolls and if I had a shot I took it. Tonight it was my turn to score, but in the next game it might be someone else. I will always be aggressive no matter what”, warned Justin Gray. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 41% from the field and 27% from the parking lot while The Walter Tigers Tuebingen were shooting 34% from the field and 24% form the parking lot. Tuebingen still had the rebound battle won at 28-24, but had 12 turnovers while Frankfurt had only eight.

The Fraport Skyliners continued to have control of the game in the fourth quarter, but Tuebingen continued to chip away and not let Frankfurt totally close the door on them. The Fraport Skyliners went on a quick 6-2 run to lead 59-47 as Mckinney dropped another three point bomb and Gray hit a jumper. American Josh Young that averaged 26 points in the PRO B last season scored on a pretty lay up dashing to the basket like an antelope running for his life from a tiger, but Mckinney countered with a lay up. Young then scored again on a jumper from the corner keeping the Tiger hopes alive as Frankfurt led 63-54. Both teams then got to the free throw line, but Tuebingen was unable to get some consecutive stops on defense as the clock was winding down as Frankfurt still had the 67-58 lead. The Walter Tigers Tuebingen waited until the three minute mark to start a furious comeback as they shocked Frankfurt with a cruel 8-2 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to only 69-66 with one minute and thirty seconds to play. The Paul Horn arena was roaring as fans were dreaming of an upset in their first home game of the season. Campbell started the run with a timely three pointer in Campbell manner, Tuebingen then caught Frankfurt napping as they perfected a fast break with Campbell unleashing  a touchdown bomb to Young who had snuck behind the Skyliners coming back on transition and Duggins hit a three pointer as the Tigers practiced top ball movement. Skyliner coach Muli Katzurin then called a time out. “Coach told Jon Leuer to take the shot”, commented Marius Nolte. Frankfurt came out and gave the ball to Leuer who didn´t hesitate nailing a mid distance jumper for the 71-66 lead. “I was happy to make that shot. It seems like so much has been going wrong for me. It was a pick and pop. They helped on Gray which left me open and I hit it”, stressed Justin Gray. Tuebingen then came back on offense and Josh Young turned the ball over on a strange in bound pass that went right while Vaughn Duggins went left securing the win for Frankfurt. “It was a miscommunication between Duggins and me”, stressed Josh Young. Gray made two free throws at the end as Frankfurt won 73-66. “We executed well in the fourth quarter. Coach had confidence in Leuer to take that last shot. I had told him to keep shooting. It was a side pick and role. Pretty much what the Tuebingen defense gave us is what we worked with. Leuer was open so he took it”, added Justin Gray. “Key today for the loss was that we didn´t communicate well on defense. We played 25 minutes of good defense”, stressed Vaughn Duggins.

The Fraport Skyliners were led by Justin Gray with 27 points, four rebounds and three assists. Jon Leuer contributed 13 points and nine rebounds. Jimmy Mckinney added 11 points. The Walter Tigers Tuebingen were led by Vaughn Duggins with 16 points. Lou Campbell added 10 points, eight rebounds and four assists while Josh Young produced 10 points and five rebounds. The first home loss for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen is surly discouraging, but it was a fine effort for a young team that is still finding themselves. “We are a young team, but we have to know that we have to be ready to play each game. I think that we have a chance to beat any team. We just can´t beat ourselves”, warned Josh Young. Marius Nolte was impressed by the play of the pesky young Tigers team. “They are a young team which has positives and negatives. You could see how much talent they have the way they hit big shots at the end, but then again one saw that they can have problems against a controlled offense and aggressive defense which happened at the start of the game. If they play hard in each game, then I think that they will have a good season”, stressed Marius Nolte. After a good start in the shooting department, The Fraport Skyliners ended up shooting only 40% from the field and 24% from outside. Tuebingen also surprisingly controlled the boards 40-32, but Frankfurt improved their turnovers to 10 after having a weak 18 against Oldenburg in the first game. “We have had injuries and I think that coach is still trying to figure out his rotation. We have to improve our transition defense and defensive rebounding. Tonight our offense dictated our defense”, added Justin Gray. The Fraport Skyliners host the s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg on October 12^th.