What can be worse for a club when you have to battle one of the top teams in the Pro b and your also missing some key players because they are using their double license to help the easyCredit BBL team who were playing at the same time. That is exactly what happened to the Fraport Skyliners Juniors who put up a great fight against Koblenz but lost by 13 points. Now they were finally home in their own living room for their first home game of the season and had to battle the Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer who were also reeling from a tough 21 point loss to the Basketball Lowen Erfurt. For Speyer guard DJ Woodmore it is always a special experience to play in Frankfurt as over the years, he has had massive games there, but had never won. He finally wanted that first win in his fifth try at Basketball City Mainhatten and after 40 minutes had the biggest smile of anyone in the BCM even larger than Mr buzzer beater Quadre Lollis Jr. (196-PF-1994, college: Presentation) who had supplied the heroic buzzer beater with the 88-86 victory over the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. The Virginia native didn’t have his best scoring game but made some big plays down the stretch when it counted most. ‘This was a big win. It is always hard to prepare, because you never know what to expect and what line up Frankfurt will have. It feels good to win. It has been a long time since starting in 2014 and making the drive here and always coming up short. But tonight I thought we played solid and made the plays when we needed them. They killed us on the offensive rebounds, but once we made adjustments and were able to limit them to one shot, we were finally able to play our game’, stressed Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer guard DJ Woodmore. It was a brutal weekend for the Fraport Skyliners organization as they lost on a buzzer beater in Heidelberg and again in Frankfurt. Both games were sprinkled with big time mistakes in the last seconds. ‘It was a rough game. I thought our offense was Ok. They brought us out of rhythm with their zone. We had some good moments on defense, but overal we didn’t play well. Winning so many statistical categories and not winning the game is unacceptable. Our 1-1 defense really hurt us. We need to have more pride on defense’, warned Fraport Skyliner Junior Marco Voeller.

The first quarter was a tight affair as there were 5 lead changes. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors didn’t waste anytime trying to get their inside game going as they gave young German Alexander Richardson many touches while Speyer quickly got guys like Quadre Lollis Jr. Jr and Hugo Cluysen involved. With Frankfurt down 6-5, they got a little push going on a 7-0 run as Richardson made a dunk, 2019 NBBL allstar Jordan Samare a three pointer and ex Lok Bernau guard Nolan Adenkunle made a lay in after getting served up the sweet dime from Richardson. Frankfurt was doing a good job being physical which Speyer couldn’t match. But basketball wouldn’t be basketball without runs as Speyer got going with a slick 10-0 run to grab the lead back at 16-13. French forward Hugo Cluysen took the load on his shoulders scoring 5 points while 212cm center David Aichele showed his soft touch from outside. ‘Hugo is very skilled and still young. He plays well in the low post, but also can expand the floor. He can be a real match up problem and loves his hook shot. He struggled in the first game, but really bounced back today’, stated DJ Woodmore. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors responded by breaking the Speyer run and went back to their game roots banging the ball inside and outmuscling their foe. German undersized big man Jordan Samare supplied 2 buckets in the paint while 18 year old German Justin Onyejiaka made a lay in and tip in dunk at the end for the 23-21 advantage. The ex JBBL MVP gave the team a lot of energy on the boards with his intensity. Both teams shot over 50% from the field and were pretty even on the boards.

In the second quarter the Fraport Skyliners Juniors took control of the game, but could never totally shake the Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer not being able to lead by more than 9 points. Frankfurt’s offense found it’s rhythm again playing their smooth inside out game while also running whenever they could to display how transition works correctly. Onyejiaka began the second quarter with a dunk on transition, Philipp Hadenfeldt made a lay in while ex Ehingen forward Nils Leonhardt made a trey for the 31-25 Frankfurt lead. After young German Samuel Schally hit a trey, Frankfurt bounced back again going on a 6-0 run to extend their lead to 37-28. In the run, Frankfurt was in constant attack mode getting 2 lay ins from athletic forward Nils Leonhardt and a lay in from Richardson who got the perfect pass form Adenkunle. Speyer remained in striking distance and didn’t allow Frankfurt to get away as Woodmore who was having a quiet night made a lay in, Cluysen made a step back and Lollis completed a floater. But Frankfurt went into the break with the 42-36 lead as Samare scored 5 points down the stretch to keep Speyer at bay. ‘Frankfurt hit us hard with their physicality. But we made enough shots and plays to stay in the game’, warned DJ Woodmore. Both teams shot over 40% from the field, but were still looking for their rhythm from outside while Frankfurt dominated the boards having the 24-14 rebound edge and 9-1 offensive rebound edge. ‘Frankfurt had problems talking and helping and were just losing their men. Speyer made some tough shots over hands and just had guys that could create their own shots’, said Fraport Skyliner Quantez Robertson.

After mustering only 36 points in the first half, the Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer exploded in the third quarter scoring 31 points, but couldn’t lead by more than 67-64 after 30 minutes. Frankfurt was able to keep pace with Speyer simply because they executed pretty well. Both teams also had a little phase of hitting three’s as 4 in a row came from Adekunle, Lollis, Samare and Woodmore, but Frankfurt still led 48-47. Frankfurt then went on a 4-0 run to lead 52-47 as Alvin Oniya made a floater and Leonhardt a tip in. But Speyer once again saw some daylight as they went on a 8-0 run to regain the lead 55-52. Lollis Jr continued to be a mismatch horror for Frankfurt as he scored and then came the big moment of 20 year German and ex Ludwigsburg forward Dejan Bruce who hit a trey and made a lay in. He finished with 14 points and 71% shooting and his athleticism definitely raised some eyebrows in the BCM. ‘He is another one of our skilled players. When he gets locked in, he will be a really good player. He needs to have that confidence to keep getting better’, warned DJ Woodmore. Speyer continued to keep the lead as Bruce got free throws and Lollis scored again for the 59-57 lead. But Frankfurt kept fighting and grabbed the lead back 60-59 getting a three pointer from Leonhardt. But Dejan Bruce wasn’t finished as he continued to be aggressive scoring in the paint and then made a crushing dunk. A Samare lay in and Richardson tap in kept Frankfurt close down by 3 after 3 quarters. ‘We finally began to hit shots and went to zone. Our zone limited their second chance points and started our offense. But Richardson still was a big force for them’, warned DJ Woodmore. The Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer lifted their shooting to above 50% from the field and 40% from outside while Frankfurt had the overwhelming 31-24 rebound edge and 15/4 offensive rebound advantage.

In the fourth quarter the Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer kept the lead, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors stayed on their heels. Justin Onyejiaka gave Frankfurt vital energy and production with a hard 2 handed dunk and reverse lay up to keep Frankfurt close down only 70-68. Speyer retaliated with a 5-0 run to lead 75-68 as Cluysen converted on a trey and Schally scored inside. But Frankfurt also responded with a 5-0 run to trail only 75-73 as Richardson made a left handed lay in over Aichele. The game became a game of small runs as Woodmore scored 3 points and Niclas Geier drove into the paint and scored for the 80-73 advantage. Frankfurt had too many turnovers, weren’t aggressive enough on 1-1 defense and didn’t have that classic inside game anymore. With crunch-time having arrived the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had to react and did with another run as Richardson continued to be a raw beast inside scoring twice while Adekunle made a floater as Frankfurt trailed only 80-79. ‘We played too timid and weren’t aggressive enough. We played not to lose instead of to win. Frankfurt hit tough shots’, expressed DJ Woodmore. Cluysen stopped the Frankfurt run with a pretty hooks shot, but Mr energizer Philipp Hadenfeldt who had been quiet scoring made a massive trey to give Frankfurt the 83-82 lead. Geier and Richardson then traded free throws, but Frankfurt still led 85-84. Frankfurt then played great defense packing the paint and stopping Aichele. After Samare made one of two free throws for the 86-84 lead, Aichele responded with a lay in as he cut into the paint. The Fraport Sklyiners Juniors had 8 seconds to play and possession of the ball, but coughed up the ball not being able to get into play within the 5 seconds. ‘We didn’t do much on that inbounds play. It was sheer will power. We just wanted the stop. We denied the ball and switched on the screen. That was a long 5 seconds’, smiled DJ Woodmore. The Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer then had the last play and executed as Quadre Lollis Jr. made the last shot with 2 seconds remaining. ‘In the huddle, coach and me decided for the ball to go to Lollis. We wanted him to use the mismatch and attack the big. We were willing to live with the result. We trusted him and he made the shot’, stated DJ Woodmore. ‘We should of fouled after the switch. We had the same problem as in Heidelberg. I thought we defended the last play well’, added Marco Voeller. The Ahorn camp BIS Baskets Speyer were led by Quadre Lollis Jr. Jr with 21 points. Hugo Cluysen added 16 points while Dejan Bruce added 14 points and Niclas Geier 11 points while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Jordan Samare with 19 points. Alexander Richardson, Nils Leonhardt and Nolan Adekunle added 14 points apiece. The Ahorn Camp BIS Baskets Speyer shot 56% from the field and 42%form outside and had 28 rebounds and 16 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 45% from the field and 32% from outside and had 36 rebounds and 11 turnovers.

Tags : QUADRE LOLLIS JR., AHORN CAMP BIS BASKETS SPEYER, GERMAN BASKETBALL