Tom Arkan led Hanau to win with 28 points

One thing is definitely missing for NBBL team Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners this season and that is seeing the big teams like FC Bayern Munich, Ibam and Ludwigsburg in their BCM living room, but when one suffers a horrible 1-11 season last year, then one has to work their way back to the top division. At the moment Eintracht Frankfurt.Fraport Skyliners are in the B-group and play teams like Sudhessen, Wurzburg and Heidelberg. So far they had started off perfect into the season with a 3-0 record and like most teams in the last years have sparkled with their consistent defense allowing only 63 points on average. On a cool autumn Sunday, Frankfurt met 0-3 team Hanau who had gotten off on the wrong side of the bed and were still searching for a defensive identity as they allowed 96 points on average. There´s always that first time in a season for a team and TG Hanau White Wings finally showed some passion on defense as they stifled Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners 72-65 on the road. The guests controlled the game from the get go and always had an answer when Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners tried to get over the hump. It also helped that Hanau got incredible support from captain Tom Arkan (189-G-2005) in crunch-time as he took control and hit big baskets to secure the win. “We finally had a full roster. We fought hard and just wanted it more than Frankfurt. We fought for every rebound. We wanted to win in Frankfurt very much and show that we belong in the league”, stressed Hanau guard Tom Arkan. Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners didn´t have their best offensive game and were handicapped without their top scorer Dusan Nikolic who wasn´t 100%. “We underestimated them and didn´t fight and play with energy at the start. We didn´t defend well nor did we rebound well. We didn´t play team basketball and everyone wanted to be the star”, stressed Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners guard Dusan Nikolic.

Marvin Esser at FT line

Even if Hanau had most of their roster in Frankfurt, they were missing 2 vital players with Danis Salhovic who was out with a hand injury and Eren Yildiz was out with a finger injury. Somebody had to take over and did with Jeremie Okitasumbu who was a one man wrecking crew as he scored Hanau´s first 4 buckets as he was unstoppable in the zone and on the boards. Frankfurt had no player who could match his intensity or rebounding ability. Frankfurt had problems with 1-1 defense and after Tom Arkan scored on penetration, Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners was staring at a 10-3 deficit. Hanau was very physical and Frankfurt didn´t have great shot selection and coughed up a few balls. German Marvin Esser made a lay in for Frankfurt, but Hanau always had answers as Okitasumbu scored again on a hook shot as Hanau led 14-6. Frankfurt received a vital basket from young 15 year old German Jamie Edoka to cut Hanau´s advantage to 14-8. But Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners was unable to slow down Hanau´s execution rate as they closed out the first quarter with a 9-2 run to lead 23-10 after 10 minutes. Hanau got a basket from Felix Sinning and 2 lay in´s by Tom Arkan who´s speed was difficult to control. “We had Okitasumbu on the scouting report. He is very athletic and we didn´t box out well enough against him. He and Arkan made plays. We just didn´t take them seriously. We thought hey it´s only Hanau”, warned Dusan Nikolic. TG Hanau White Wings shot 47% from the field and 0% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 2 turnovers while Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners shot 27% from the field and 13% from outside and had 8 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Jeremie Okitasumbu at the Ft line

In the second quarter TG Hanau White Wings continued to control the game, but both teams made runs as Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners pulled back within 1 point, but only to lose the momentum and trail by 11 points at the break. Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners came out on fire going on a 5-0 run to cut the Hanau lead down to 23-15 as Namori Omog made a lay in and Leif Zentgraf drilled home a trey. Hanau rapidly answered with a trey from Ben Williams for the 26-15 advantage, but Frankfurt had spark on offense going on a 12-2 run to trail only 28-27. In the run, Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners got additional big support from Leif Zentgraf with another three pointer and free throw, while energizer Rephael Edward made a lay in as did Omot and 2023 JBBL finalist Maximilian Peters drooped a trey. Joscha Zentgraf had a poor shooting day and had much misfortune, but twin Leif had the hot hand as his play really pushed Frankfurt to new heights. Hanau lost intensity on defense and couldn´t slow down Frankfurt´s good decisions. But Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners couldn´t hold the momentum as they encountered another poor phase with defensive break downs as Hanau sped out on a 9-1 run to lead 37-28. In the run Hanau received fine support from their bench as Germans Vadim Maisels connected on a trey and quick footed Nabil Alsabagh scored on penetration. Valentine Konstantinov also supplied offense power with a lay in and put back. Frankfurt gave up too many easy baskets as their defensive aggressiveness was lacking. Frankfurt showed a little daylight with back to back buckets from glue guy Marvin Esser and Omog to cut Hanau´s lead to 37-32. But Frankfurt continued to have their ups and downs as they relinquished a 6-0 run by Hanau to trail 43-32 at half-time. After being quiet for some minutes, it was time for Jeremie Okitasumbu to get going as he scored twice in the lane and Sinning also scored inside. “We didn´t expect them to be so good on offense and were just overwhelmed. “We couldn´t contain Okitasumbu. Our bad offense came off our bad defense”, stated Dusan Nikolic. TG Hanau White Wings shot 47% from the field and 17% from the three point line and had 24 rebounds and 7 turnovers while Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners shot 39% from the field and 36% from the three point line and had 17 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Tom Arkan with the lay in

n the third quarter TG Hanau White Wings continued to control the lead, but Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners continued to fight back, but still were unable to get over the hump trailing by 5 points after 30 minutes. But Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners had another super start going on a 8-2 run to cut Hanau´s lead to 45-40. In the run, it was Namori Omot who led the charge as his organizing of the game was superb. He had a great knack of knowing when to finish and when to find his teammates. In this phase, his scoring was spot on as he added 6 points including a trey while Leif Zentgraf made a hard dunk. “Omot plays very well. He plays with high intensity and reads the game well. I also like his ball handling. I try to push him in practice. I see him being a leader in the future”, stressed Dusan Nikolic. Hanau stopped the run with lay in´s from Arkan and Sinning to extend their lead to 51-43. Hanau did a good job being clever and knowing how to get easy baskets against a lax Frankfurt defense that just lacked aggressiveness. Hanau wanted to slam the door on Frankfurt as they added consecutive three´s with Maisel and Arkan as Hanau led 57-43. Just when one thought that that was the final blow, Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners retaliated with a new blow closing out the third quarter with a 7-0 run to trail 57-52 after 3 quarters. In the run, Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners got a tip in by Peters and a runner from Esser at the buzzer. Frankfurt also got to the free throw line but missed 2. After 40 minutes they missed a total of 17 free throws which didn´t help in their winning attempt. “We did a good job executing our plays and just fighting hard”, stated Tom Arkan. “Hanau was playing well, but we never gave up. We did a better job playing as a team”, added Dusan Nikolic. TG Hanau White Wings shot 42% from the field and 31% from the parking lot and had 35 rebounds and 11 turnovers while Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners shot 39% from the field and 33% from the parking lot and had 31 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Namori Omog with the jumper

Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners had a golden opportunity in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter to take control, but as usual couldn´t execute consistently. Frankfurt made 5 stops, but could only make one field goal by Omog to trail 57-54. Okitasumbu hit a three pointer at the 6,00 minute mark for Hanau´s first field goal to lead 60-54. After a Joscha Zentgraf lay in, Konstantinov reacted with a trey for the 63-56 Hanau lead. Frankfurt had the next answer with a Edward put back, but Maisels reacted with another three pointer for the 65-59 advantage. After a Frankfurt turnover, Arkan reacted with an off balance shot for the 67-59 lead for Hanau. Frankfurt got a lay in by Leif Zentgraf and free throws from Omog to trail 67-63. Hanau was struggling and gave Frankfurt extra chances but Frankfurt couldn´t take advantage of it. Hanau made another turnover and Joshca Zentgraf punished Hanau with a lay in to trail 67-65 with 22 seconds. But Tom Arkan made a free throw and then got an offensive rebound and drew another foul and hit 2 free throws. Athletic Jeremie Okitasumbu blocked Leif Zengraft which led to a Tom Arkan lay in to end the game. “Our intensity was higher. We were strong mentally and stuck together. We got a big 50/50 ball at the end. I really felt it today. We played well as a team and my teammates found me”, said Tom Arkan. “They played smarter and made better decisions. They knew when to use their strengths and wanted it more than us”, stressed Dusan Nikolic. TG Hanau White Wings were led by Tom Arkan with 28 points. Jeremie Okitasumbu added 18 points and Vadim Maisels 11 points while Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners was led by Namori Omot with 18 points while Leif Zentgraf added 15 points. TG Hanau White Wings shot 42% from the field and 33% from outside and had 44 rebounds and 18 turnovers while Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners shot 35% from the field and 24% from outside and had 44 rebounds and 19 turnovers.