The Fraport Skyliners play and results continue to be as much as an enigma as it is to when this whole COVID-19 fiasco will be finally resolved as they continue to find themselves trying to produce some consistency. They had a good span recently wining three of four games against Braunschweig, MBC and BG Goettingen, but then totally lost control to a young Wurzburg team getting wiped out in crunch-time and then totally stunk up the house in Hamburg. There are days where they can be an offensive wrecking crew and display disciplined defensive basketball, but they just can´t hold it for a longer period of time. The Buffalo Bills of the EasyCredit BBL Telekom Baskets Bonn arrived in Frankfurt sporting a 3-10 record and a new/old coach with American Will Voigt. They were riding a four game losing streak, but obviously were a lot better ball club then their miserable record showed having lost two of the last four games by one point respectively to Ulm and Chemnitz. The Telekom Baskets Bonn played a hard spirted game against the Fraport Skyliners, but had no solution how to slow down American Matt Mobley in crunch-time as he carried his team to the win. “We started off very patient. We knew that they were a very talented offensive team where guys like Babb and Pollard can take off for 20 points each. We did a good job staying level headed and I felt this was the best communication that we had this season. We trusted each other and didn´t get down. We made a lot of hustle plays which was key for the win”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Matt Mobley. The Telekom Baskets Bonn got a lot of good offensive support, but when it counted most couldn´t get the big stops. “We didn´t finish the job. I thought we did a good job scoring, getting to the free throw line and getting offensive rebounds. We allowed Mobley to get loose at the end and he was hard to contain which cost us the win”, stated Telekom Baskets Bonn guard Josh Hagins.

                Ex wiha Panthers forward Rasheed Moore got the Fraport Skyliners on the board first with a lay in, but the guests didn´t fret as they connected on five rapid points as ex Boston Celtic Chris Babb nailed a trey and ex Giessen forward Benjamin Lischka hauled down an offensive rebound and made the put back for the 5-2 advantage. Mobley then dead locked the contest with a three pointer at 5-5.  Basketball is typically a game of runs and it was Bonn that had the first one going on a lethal 10-4 run to lead 15-9. In the run, the guests got vital support from Babb who scored 5 points while Serbian 205cm power forward Strahinja Micovic hit a trey and ex Kent State University (NCAA) guard Xavier Pollard made a heads up play sneaking inside hitting the offensive glass and making the put back. The Telekom Baskets Bonn did a good job being aggressive on the boards and spread out the offense nicely. The Fraport Skyliners then took a time out at 5,15 and when they returned back on the floor executed head coach Sebastian Gleim´s game plan perfectly shocking Bonn with a 15-0 run to take the 24-15 advantage. In the run, Frankfurt slapped Bonn in the face taking away their strength at that moment with the offensive rebounds and got two in a row and making put backs from ex Vechta center Michael Kessens and Rasheed Moore. Moore remained aggressive and got two more baskets in the paint while ex Davidson(NCAA) guard Jon Axel Gundmundsson dropped a trey and ex Miami(NCAA) center Kamari Murphy also scored. Xavier Pollard finally stopped the run with a bucket. Frankfurt ended the first quarter with a bang as ex Braunschwieg guard Joe Rahon drilled home a pretty buzzer beater fade away shot as Frankfurt led 26-17. “I guess that time out before the 15-0 run was a good time out. That wasn´t our best basketball this season. We have had other good 5 minutes of basketball this season like when w were down by 4 points to Munich. Our problem is that we still have too many holes that we need to crawl out of during games. We need to be more consistent”, stressed Fraport Skyliners head coach Sebastian Gleim.

            In the second quarter the Fraport Skyliners controlled the game leading by as much as 14 points, but lost some steam in the last minutes allowing the Telekom Baskets Bonn to trail 44-36 at half-time. The Fraport Skyliners came out in the second quarter going on a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 36-22. Kamari Murphy was instrumental in the run showing his inside out game scoring 7 points. Joe Rahon also showed that he can be more than a pass first point guard making a jumper. If there is a guy that will help his team come back then it´s scoring ace Chris Babb. He led Bonn on a 8-3 run to cut the Frankfurt advantage to 39-30. Babb has such good ball handling skills and is always so smooth, he made his trey look so easy and also contributed with a lay in. Frankfurt made some bad decisions in the last minutes allowing Benjamin Lischka to the free throw line and Babb drilled home another trey giving the Telekom Baskets Bonn some breathing room. Where most eyes are always on the explosive scoring of ex St Bonaventure(NCAA) guard Matt Mobley, one can witness great consistent play from Rasheed Moore at all times of the game. He is one of the few guys that have come from the Regionalliga to the BBL with guys like Jason Boone and Devin Uskoski and become a very solid BBL player.  One person who is totally in awe of his abilities is Frankfurt head coach Sebastian Gleim who saw another great performance from him as he put up 16 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and shot 64% from the floor. “I saw him the first time in Schwenningen in the Pro B. I looked in his eyes and knew that he would be something special. He plays with so much energy and is our most complete player. He is one of the reasons why I love to coach. He isn´t only a great player, but a great person”, warned Sebastian Gleim.

            The Fraport Skyliners continued to control the game in the third quarter, but let up in the last minutes allowing the Telekom Baskets Bonn back into the contest. In the first few minutes, it rained three´s as Rahon and Mobley connected while Bonn received another trey from Chris Babb, but Frankfurt led 50-41. The Fraport Skyliners continued to execute well getting some more buckets from Moore who continued to have that special knack for getting the offensive rebound and put back and Gundmundsson iced a trey as Frankfurt led 55-43. The Fraport Skyliners then lost their rhythm and let up allowing the Telekom Baskets Bonn to claw back going on a 10-2 run to cut the Frankfurt lead to 57-53. In the run, the Telekom Baskets Bonn got massive baskets from Micovic who scored twice with hook shots. Bonn also got to the free throw line getting buckets from ex Temple(NCAA) guard TJ DiLeo and ex Iserlohn center Gabriel De Olveira. Frankfurt stopped the run getting two huge energy baskets as Murphy flew in from the wing getting a perfect feed from Rahon for the massive two handed stuff and then Joe Rahon made another buzzer beater lay in getting a touch down pass from Quantez Robertson as the Fraport Skyliners led 61-55 after 30 minutes. “We knew that they would go on runs. We stayed patient and calm and strapped down on defense to keep the lead”, said Matt Mobley.

            The Fraport Skyliners kept the lead in the fourth quarter, but the Telekom Baskets Bonn remained on their backs and just couldn´t let loose and even took the lead until Matt Mobley took over. But the guests got on the board first in the fourth quarter getting a basket inside from Lithuanian national player Deividas Gailius to Cut Frankfurt´s lead to 61-57. Frankfurt then coughed up the ball and sniper Matt Mobley had seen enough. He took matters into his own hands and exploded turning around a 61-57 lead to a 69-60 advantage. He made an of balance shot and smoked home two trey´s as the Telekom Baskets Bonn helplessly watched the scoring spree take them apart. But the Telekom Baskets Bonn still had gas and energy left unleashing a 10-2 run to trail Frankfurt only 71-70. In the run, Bonn got vital production from Hagins who hit a three, as did Gailius and Pollard made a hustle play getting a loose ball and lay up. Frankfurt held the lead getting some important buckets from Kessens and Mobley, but with Babb being slowed down, it was Pollard who continued to keep Bonn alive as he made three baskets dead locking the contest at 78-78 with 1,30 to play. “Xavier stepped up in crunch-time and is finally getting established in the league”, stated Josh Hagins. German Benjamin Lischka made a free throw giving Bonn the lead back at 79-78. But then it was Matt Mobley who took center stage as he stroked home a pretty three and then dropped free throws for the 83-79 lead. “When Bonn went on their run our offense got stagnant. Coach then ran plays for me and I got open. If I miss some shots, I won´t stop taking shots. I always stay confident. When I´m open, I will shoot every time”, stressed Matt Mobley. “Mobley got going. You have to tip him your hat. He had no open shots. We were on him and he made tough shots”, stated Xavier Pollard. The Fraport Skyliners were led by Matt Mobley with 25 points, 10 boards and 5 assists while Rasheed Moore added 16 points and Kamari Murphy had 12 points while the Telekom baskets Bonn were led by Chris Babb with 20 points and Strahinja Micovic produced 18 points. The Fraport Skyliners shot 525 form the field and 42% from outside and had 35 rebounds and 15 turnovers while the Telekom baskets Bonn shot 42% from the field and 35% from outside and had 33 rebounds and 10 turnovers.