With the days getting shorter, temperatures falling to a point where you want to make that first visit to the sauna, and the first shoppers getting ideas about Christmas gifts, a get away trip to exotic Gran Canaria could be more than enticing. When thinking about Gran Canaria, the first thoughts may be how warm the micro climate currently is, if there is ever a possibility of hot lava oozing down the side of a mountain on the island of volcanic origin,12 time wind surfer world champion record holder Bjoern Dunkerbeck giving a clinic on the court, tennis player Carla Suarez Navarro ever reaching the top 10 in the WTA rankings, or how many of the yearly 2,2 million tourists  actually know where the island is geographically before going there. However for many one of the last thoughts that the team could actually have a professional basketball team is high. For many players also basketball isn´t the first thing that they think about when they have the island Gran Canaria in deep thought. “ I played against Gran Canaria with Polish team Turow some years ago. You think more about the water before basketball, but when you see the great atmosphere in the arena and the fans, you quickly know that that would be a great place to play at. I was surprised how close the gym was to the water”, stressed Skyliner guard Justin Gray. “When I think of Gran Canaria, I think of holiday and going to the beach, but then once you see the basketball atmosphere there, you see that there is a lot of basketball tradition there and feel great being able to play there”, stressed ex Bamberg forward Spencer Nelson.

Gran Canaria may not be as deep or known like a FC Barcelona or Real Madrid, but they have reached the ACB playoffs 8 times in the last 9 years, but like the Fraport Skyliners have started the season very slowly in the ACB with a record of 2-6. They came into the Fraport arena having a 1-0 record after a surprising win on the road at Lokomotive Kuban while The Fraport Skyliners were at 0-1 after losing a bitter 74-73 game in Turkey last week against Banvit. Despite being in only 16^th place in the ACB, The Fraport Skyliners knew that they the game wouldn´t be a Sunday afternoon cake walk. “Gran Canaria have two strong gaurds with Taurean Green and Marquez Haynes and play a different brand of basketball. They play their offensive sets well, defend hard and can get out on transition. They may not be like a FC Barcelona, but they have that kind of mindset. When they go to play in other countries, they represent Spanish Basketball very well”, stressed North Carolina native Justin Gray. In the first half, Gran Canaria seemed to be on the beach in thought lounging and enjoying a sex on the beach drink, but they took care of business in the second half getting off their hammock and showing a more respectable brand of basketball that they are used to. “We played a very good team with Frankfurt. We gave up too many easy baskets in the first half, but in the second half, we defended more aggressively and got easy baskets. We played as a team tonight. We were missing some guys, but every one stepped up tonight”, stated ex NBA player Tauren Green. For The Fraport Skyliners, it was their eighth loss in a row and the last time they won a game was 41 days ago against The s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg where Justin Gray hit a buzzer beater. We are really struggling at the moment. I have never lost so much in my life. We just have to keep fighting and hope we can get that win on Sunday against TBB Trier”, commented 2011 NBA draft pick of the Milwaukee Bucks Jon Leuer. “This was a very tough loss since we have been playing a lot better in the last games. We couldn´t execute the way we wanted to on offense or defense”, added Skyliner guard Quantez Robertson.

The Fraport Skyliners had to shuffle their lineup around as they were without the services of Justin Gray and German national player Tim Ohlbrecht. Gran Canaria had to play without 51 time NBA player Alando Tucker who had injured himself in the team shoot around the night before. Only 1,450 people were on hand in the Fraport arena to see this Eurocup clash between the two teams. The Fraport Skyliners didn´t shy away at the get go as they quickly got the lead and held it for some minutes. Ex NBA player Jermareo Davidson got on the board twice making a statement early with his jumper. Gran Canaria got a Columbian/Senegal production early fron Juan Palacios and Sitapha Savane. Jon Leuer got started early as well hitting a jumper over Palacios as Frankfurt led 8-4 and seemed to be getting into a groove. However basketball is a game of runs and hit Frankfurt with an 11-0 jaunt to take the 15-8 lead. Greece national team player Michael Bramos who was born in Michigan hit two jumpers. Spencer Nelson then was inserted and he seemed to give his team some added energy as he would score the remaining eight points in the quarter. He showed his versatility scoring inside with a pretty left handed lay in, hitting two jumpers and another lay in. “Nelson is a very good player. He can do so many things for them and that is why they are successful”, stressed Jon Leuer.  Frankfurt lost their rhythm which they had found quickly in the opening minutes and couldn´t cope with the more aggressive Gran Canaris defense. Leuer scored again as he finished the first quarter with seven points, but The Fraport Skyliners trailed 17-11. “We found our rhythm quick, but the Gran Canaria 11-0 run was unfortunate. Nelson was key in the run”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Benedikt Nicolay. “I don´t think that our run really had to do with me coming in. We simply hitsome shots and got out on transition”, stated Spencer Nelson. Gran Canaria was shooting 42% from two point range and 50% from outside while The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 50% from two point range and 0% from outside. The rebounds were deadlocked at 8-8 and Gran Canaria only had one turnover while The Fraport Skyliners had four turnovers.

In the second quarter, The Fraport Skyliners would start their comeback as they found a go to guy with Jon Leuer who did most of his damage from the wing. The Fraport Skyliners jumped on Gran Canaria going on a 7-3 run to cut the Gran Canaria lead to 20-18. Jimmy Mckinney also was getting going as he hit a catch and pop jumper and connected on a floater. Leuer then made a jumper over Nelson and snuck inside for a dunk. The Fraport Skyliners continued to press, but couldn´t get the lead back despite extra effort from Leuer who made a catch and pop shot and free throws. Ex Denver Nugget Taurean Green kept Frankfurt at bay with two jumpers. He continued to be an extremely difficult player to guard, because he moves so well with and without the ball and was always able to find space to get off less contested shots. Frankfurt finally got over the hump as they went on a mini 4-0 run as Maurius Nolte made a lay in and Jimmy Mckinney dropped  a three point bomb and Frankfurt led 31-29.  Ex Chalon player Marquez Haynes gave Gran Canaria the lead back with a jumper, but German national player Johannes Herber hit free throws as the Fraport Skyliners led 33-32 at half time. Jon Leuer was a big reason for the Skyliner success with his 11 points in the second quarter and overall 17 points after 20 minutes. “Leuer is very solid. He has a nice pump fake and good jumper. He also moves well on the floor which makes it tough to defend him. He will have a good career in Frankfurt”, stressed Spencer Nelson. “Leuer was hot. Frankfurt also did a good job withstanding the pressure on the court despite not having  a true point guard on the floor”, stressed Benedikt Nicolay. “Frankfurt came out with more energy in the second quarter, ran and were more aggressive”, stated Spencer Nelson. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 61% from the two point range and 20% from the three point line while Gran Canaria was shooting 44% from the two point range and 33% from the three point line. Frankfurt had the 19-13 rebound edge, but six turnovers while Gran Canaria only had one turnover.

In basketball, you have to play consistent for 40 minutes and in the third quarter, The Fraport Skyliners were unable to keep up with the added aggressiveness on defense by Gran Canaria. Jimmy Mckinney did make free throws and a jumper, but Gran Canaria also got off to a good healthy rhythm as they got added inside help from Palacios and Savane who scored. Michael Bramos tied the score at 38-38 with a fade away jumper over Leuer. Then came the turning point in the ball game as Gran Canaria went on a 12-2 run to lead 50-40. Gran Canaria got some added shooting punch as Bramos, Haynes and Green hit three pointers. Savane also added to the run with a lay in traffic. Gran Canaria was moving the ball well and waiting for the best possible shots while The Fraport Skyliners couldn´t get used to the aggressive defense which forced them to turnovers and Jon Leuer seemed to be taken out of the game with his offense. “Gran Canaria was denying the post and I wasn´t getting the ball so I tried to find my teammates more. It isn´t about how you score, but how you play”, stressed Jon Leuer. After captain Marius Nolte made a lay in, he was hit with a technical foul. Ex FC Barcelona big man Xavi Rey finished the third quarter with a tip in as Gran Canaria led 54-43. “We didn´t get back in transition. We were unable to execute our offense and they got open looks and got to the free throw line”, expressed Quantez Robertson. “We got more stops on defense this quarter. We rebounded better and got out on transition which didn´t allow them to set up their matching defense”, added 2006 and 2007 NCAA champion with Florida Taurean Green. Gran Canaria was shooting 43% from the two point range and 41% from the parking lot while The Fraport skyliners were shooting 50% from the two point line and 29% from the parking lot. Frankfurt still had the 26-21 rebound edge, but 11 turnovers while Gran Canaria had only three turnovers.

In the fourth quarter, It was Gran Canaria that added to their strong third quarter, by flying higher than the Fraport Skyliners cruising out on a 8-1 run to lead 62-44. Taurean Green nailed a three pointer and jumper always using his quickness to give him an added advantage in getting a more open shot to take. Spencer Nelson made a lay in on the fast break and showed that even in the body of a 203cm forward, he runs like a guard. “Green is a very good player. I played against him with Aubrun against Florida. He has a nice mid range shot and always knows how to get his teammates involved”, stressed Quantez Robertson. However the Fraport Skyliners didn´t let this lightening run discourage them as they retaliated with a 8-0 run to bring smóme new energy into the Fraport arena as there was hope again as Frankfurt was only trailing 62-52. In this run, Johannes Herber hit a rare three pointer as he hadn´t hit one in weeks and Leuer nailed a three pointer. However with time elapsing quickly, Gran Canaria sealed the door on the Fraport Skyliners breaking their backs with a 5-0 run as they led more comfortably 67-52. Nelson hit a huge three pointer and Haynes scored hard to the rim on the penetration over Nolte. Michael Thompson did something for his scoring account making a three pointer and untouched lay in while Javier Beiran closed out the scoring with two buckets inside. The Fraport Sklyiners gave another spirited effort, but that wont be remembered as a loss doesn´t count for anything.

Gran Canaria was led by Spencer Nelson with 14 points. Taurean Green added 13 points. Marquez Haynes contributed 11 points and Michael Bramos 10 points. The Fraport Skyliners were led by Jon Leuer with 20 points and eight rebounds. Jimmy Mckinney followed up his strong performance in Munich with 15 points and finally hit from outside as he had been in an 0/11 slump from downtown. The Fraport Skyliners shot 42% from the two point line and 36% from outside which couldn´t match the more consistent shooting of Gran Canaria who shot 50% from the two point range and 45% fron outside. A positive stat was that the Fraport Skyliners got to the free throw line again more frequently getting 22 attempts while Gran Canaria was limited to only 13 free throws. Despite the eight game losing streak, Gran Canaria guard Tauren Green thinks that they can snap their losing streak next weekend against TBB Trier. “Frankfurt is a very good team. They have two strong bigs with Davidson and Leuer and good guards. They have a good overall team. It will always be tough to play them”, added Tauren Green. The Fraport Skyliners host TBB Trier on November 2t7h at 15:00.