A positive Debut in Frankfurt For Predrag Krunic

After a long summer, it was time for Skyliner diehard basketball fans to trek back into the arena in Hoechst to witness basketball again. There were many new faces around like Aiden Warnholtz, Cameron Henry and David Muenkat, but the opponent wasn´t any different as MBC was in the house led by well known head coach Predrag Krunic. The only difference that many had to get used to was that the easyCredit BBL was history at least for this season. The Fraport Skyliners began a new adventure in the Pro A and were tested right away in cup action with the BBL team from Weissenfels. The eastern Germany team also had produced a face lift, but at least one well known BBL player was still there with 3 time BBL rebound leader John Bryant. Anytime a Bryant is in town, it´s worth a trip to the Skyliners living room. Unfortunately he only witnessed 9 minutes and scored 1 point. The Fraport Skyliners wanted to start the season with a bang showing their special qualities against the BBL team while MBC wanted to remain in the Cup competition and not get upset by a Pro A team. The Fraport Skyliners blased off in the first quarter unveiling an offensive party, but that fizzled in the last 3 quarters as the Fraport Skyliners had difficulty overall with the on ball pressure and just couldn´t withstand the opponents annoying guard athleticism losing 81-73 in cup action. “We are still trying to find our identity as a team. I felt that we played hard. They play fast paced and hit big shots. Baldwin annoyed us a lot with his timely baskets. Today better offense beat great defense”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Cameron Henry. The Syntanics MBC played a solid game and lived off their guard play and got huge support from Baldwin especially in crunch-time when Frankfurt staged a late comeback. “I felt we played a good game. We had our ups and downs. We knew it would be a tough game, because they are a team that want to get back to the BBL. Our defense and guard play carried us. We had the advantage with our quickness and length”, said MBC guard Johnathan Stove.

Chris-Ebou Ndow at the FT line

Both teams got their offenses rolling in the first quarter as MBC got baskets from Norwegian forward Chris-Edou Ndow as he supplied two while ex Ludwigsburg center Martin Breunig also connected on an off balance shot while Frankfurt was led by a one man wrecking crew with ex Carleton standout Aiden Warnholtz who was left a lot of room and didn´t hesitate scoring 9 of Frankfurt´s first 11 points in the first few minutes to lead 11-7. Frankfurt was demonstrating pretty team basketball and made good decisions while sprouting a lot of self-confidence. Frankfurt was playing good defense, but MBC was hitting tough contested shots that kept them in the game early. Frankfurt got a lot of production from everyone as young German big man Jordan Samare scored twice as he was put in good scoring position by the dimes from David Muenkat and Booker Coplin as Frankfurt led 26-19. But MBC always had an answer as Stephon Jelks scored getting a loose ball and German Kostja Mushidi made a lay in on transition. Aiden Warnholtz may have supplied the first ohhs and ahhs with Buckets but he showed on the last score that his passing my be his most beautiful asset as he supplied Samare with the perfect shovel pass and lay in for the 28-23 lead after 10 minutes. “Coach has told us since day one to always be aggressive at both ends. But we didn´t come out like that, but came out on our heels. We had to many turnovers and weren´t aggressive enough”, stated ex Louisiana (NCAA) guard Johnathan Stove.

David Muenkat for 3

The game took a turn in the second quarter as the Fraport Skyliners were unable to keep their powerful scoring from the first quarter as they dipped down to 11 points while MBC continued to stay consistent on offense living off their guard play scoring 25 points. The guests totally upped their defensive intensity on ball and Frankfurt was unable to come to terms with that. Their lead started to dwindle. German Alvin Onyia made a nice runner for the 30-25 advantage, but MBC began to slowly crawl back and before anybody knew it, the score was dead locked at 32-32 as MBC got baskets from Jelks and Stove on the drive as Frankfurt´s 1-1 defense was too lax. It also didn´t help Frankfurt´s cause when they suffered their 5th foul at the 4,50 minute mark. MBC went on a lethal 16-7 run to lead 48-39 at the break. In the run of MBC, it was Diante Baldwin (180-PG-1994, college: UNCG) who had played in Germany back in the 2019-2020 season for Tuebingen scored 3 times, while they also mixed it up getting Breunig touches that led to a running hook shot and dunk. Frankfurt continued to get beat 1-1 and also had problems with transition defense. A good sign were the many extra passes by Frankfurt, but in a game with so much pressure, not always the best idea as they did get many turnovers because of that. “Our on ball pressure really helped us get the lead. Our athleticism and ability to disrupt plays and timing was important for us. Our up tempo play is one of our biggest strengths. That allowed us get easy baskets”, stated Johnathan Stove.

Courtney Ramy for 3

In the third quarter, both teams were unable to score much, but MBC still kept the comfortable lead going into the last frame. The Fraport Skyliners came out of half-time refocused and struck the guests with a swift 6-0 run to get back into the game trailing only 48-45. In the run, Frankfurt continued to display their unselfish game and spread the love around against the not so aggressive MBC defense as ex NCAA 3 player Booker Coplin made an off balance shot, German big Lorenz Brennecke made a lay in on the pick and roll with Henry and Marco Voeller drilled home an open three pointer. Frankfurt did a good job playing their game in the half court and not the up tempo game of MBC and they made good decisions on offense. After 5 stops by Frankfurt, MBC finally got on the board with their first field goal of the third quarter at the 6,32 minute mark with a trey by Jelks to lead 51-45. After a Brennecke turnover, It was Jelks again who dropped a three pointer for the 54-44 advantage. Frankfurt had problems executing their offense once again against the on ball pressure, but at the same time defended well, but couldn´t come back. The offensive scoring of Aiden Warnholtz had stopped abruptly after his explosion in the first quarter as he got no more good looks and had to concentrate on playmaking. David Muenkat sparkled with a three pointer and acrobatic lay in, but MBC retaliated with a Baldwin lay in and Breunig free throws to keep the 59-51 lead after 30 minutes. “ We knew that Warnholtz was their engine. We were more aggressive on him. We knew that if we could stay in front of him that we would be ok. They had good ball movement the whole game. That will help them in the second division. We have to tighten that up on defense and not allow as many extra passes”, commented Johnathan Stove. “We had to fight adversary for the first time in the second quarter. We knew we had to come back in the third quarter and keep our head up. Our mentality is all about that next play. We fought hard and stayed in the game. We want our fans to know that we won´t roll over and work hard 24/7”, warned ex Indiana State (NCAA) guard Cameron Henry.

Marco Voeller at the FT line

Diante Baldwin saved his best for last as he scored 4 buckets in the fourth quarter securing the cup win for the 2004 Fiba Europe Cup winner. It actually seemed like the Syntainics MBC would decide the game early as they came out on a 12-4 run to register their biggest lead of the game at 71-55. The guests executed well sharing the love as they got many guys into the action. Stefan Birecevic who has won 7 career titles and 2 silver medals with Serbia made a runner, Breunig a lay in, Baldwin scored twice and Stove made a three pointer. Stove who finished with 13 points, 5 rebounds and 4 dimes is a guy who has had to pay his dues the last 2 years after starting his professional career 3 years after he finished in the NCAA. So far he is making the most of his arrival in the easyCredit BBL the highest league that he has ever been in in his career. “I´m playing more combo guard this season then the 2/3. Coach wants me more to control the team and distribute this season. I can still take the three, but take the shots when my team needs it most”, stated Johnathan Stove. But the Fraport Skyliners didn´t hang their heads, but staged one last comeback going on a 15-4 run to trail only 75-70 with a little more than a minute to play. In the run, Frankfurt was living on adrenaline and let it rain three´s and had the momentum on their side. Muenkat, Coplin (twice) and Warnholtz connected from the parking lot while the guests couldn´t muster any proper offense. Suddenly there was new life in the arena, but step in Diante Baldwin. He was able to switch his switch on to unstoppable as he nailed 2 back to back off balance shots for the 79-71 lead that would have had Kemba Walker paying attention. “Baldwin hit big shots. He is really tough and a real baller. I have to guard him each day so I know. I remember telling him that we are going to give you the ball and you just do your thing. He is our engine. We wouldn´t have won the game without him”, warned Johnathan Stove. Edow and Muenkat closed out the game with lay in´s. “We picked up our intensity at the end the way it was in the first quarter. We were desperate at the end hitting big shots and getting steals and stops. We have to play like that for 40 minutes. I know it´s tough, but if we can do that then we will win a lot of games”, stressed Cameron Henry. The Syntainics MBC were led by Diante Baldwin with 17 points. Martin Breunig contributed 16 points while Stephon Jelks had 15 points. Johnathan Stove and Chris-Ebou Ndow added 13 points a piece while the Fraport Skyliners were led by Booker Coplin with 18 points while David Muenkat had 17 points and Aiden Warnholtz added 15 points. The Syntainics MBC shot 56% from the field and 27% from outside and had 31 rebounds and 17 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners shot 45% from the field and 29% from outside and had 27 rebounds and 18