After the Fraport Skyliners had won their fourth game in a row against Kirchheim, some pessimists crept out of their holes and proclaimed that now the team will have to show their true colors on the road. Well after 3 weeks away from home, the Fraport Skyliners continue to roll and had a 7-0 record after massive wins in Giessen, Karlsruhe and Dresden. The staple of the Fraport Skyliners is their defense as they allow only 65 points per game while their offensive game isn´t too shabby either as they can produce a different top scorer on any night. Can any team stop the Fraport Skyliners? Well second year pro A team Art Giants Duesseldorf were up next for Frankfurt, but they were sporting a poor 2-5 record and a chaotic defense. Alex Richardson who has played 3 seasons in Frankfurt returned back to his living room while Booker Coplin (191-G-1997, college: Augsburg, agency: BIG) met his ex team after having played with them for his first 2 professional seasons. The Fraport Skyliners arrived in the game with incredible self-confidence, but after a few minutes their over motivated play quickly put them in a hole which they couldn´t escape from until the fourth quarter where they produced an incredible come back pulling out the 71-65 victory over the Art Giants Duesseldorf to move to 8-0. “We had a poor start where we couldn´t buy a shot. But we did a good job staying with it mentally and finally flipping the switch away from our frustration. Basketball is a game of runs and it is about making the best out of your own run. Our energy on defense helped us at the end. We kept chipping away at their lead with big plays and consecutive rebounds kept us pumped which kept us in reach. We knew that we had a chance to win if we could control our effort”, warned Fraport Skyliner David Muentkat. The ART Giants Duesseldorf played a potent game for 30 minutes, but lost control in the fourth quarter as too much 1-1 play and unnecessary turnovers gave Frankfurt extra shots in their comeback attempt. “We were aggressive for 30 minutes and played with a purpose. It was our best start of the whole season. But in the fourth quarter, we began to play on our heels. I thought we defended well today. Guys are starting to buy into their roles individually and as a team”, stressed ART Giants Duesseldorf guard CJ Anderson.

Lorenz Brenneke at the FT line

The ART Giants Duesseldorf began to execute right off the bat while the Fraport Skyliners couldn´t hit the ocean. Before Frankfurt had even known what had hit them, the guests led 8-0. Swedish big man Craig Lecesne hit 2 rapid three´s and made a runner. Duesseldorf was playing with a high intensity and high tempo that Frankfurt couldn´t match. Ex Alba Berlin forward Lorenz Brenneke got Frankfurt on the board with 2 free throws, but Duesseldorf´s offensive fury continued as they scored 13 further unanswered points as Frankfurt stared at a baffling 21-2 deficit. In the run, the guests just continued to play their enticing game as ex Schwenningen American Raiquan Clark led the charge with 7 points. It seemed everything he touched turned to gold. German role players Finn Fleute and Emil Marshall added three pointers as the hole for them must of looked as big as lake Eire. The guests continued to ride the momentum and gave a good mix of individual plays to well prepared shots through team play. After being stopped 17 times, the Fraport Skyliners finally got on the board at the 1,21 minute mark as ex Hanau guard Bruno Albrecht made a shot and then a trey to trail only 21-7. German Paul Giese added 2 jumpers and German Jakob Knauf a three pointer as Frankfurt trailed 25-10 after 10 minutes. “We have to do a better job of setting the tone instead of trying to match their intensity. We were lucky today getting back into the game. Great teams won´t let you do that”, warned David Muenkat. “Basketball is basketball. Sometimes you make shots and sometimes you don´t. We just happened to have a good start and they didn´t. They had good open looks, but their shots didn´t fall”, stressed CJ Anderson who played at UMass (NCAA). The ART Giants Duesseldorf shot 67% from the field and 80% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners shot 16% from the field and 22% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Marquil Smith lay in

The Fraport Skyliners stepped up their defense in the second quarter, but offensively couldn´t find their groove yet which disallowed them to get over the hump and trailed still big at the break down by 14 points. Clark began the second quarter with a steal and lay in to give the guests the 27-10 advantage. But Frankfurt upped their defensive intensity which led to some steals and they also executed better on offense. After firing away too much with three´s, they tried to mix it up going inside and got an offensive rebound and put back by Brenneke and a trey by ex Charleton great Aiden Warnholtz cut Duesseldorf´s lead to 30-18. Frankfurt´s execution got better as Warnholtz made a floater and David Muenkat a lay in to trail 35-24. Besides stepping up their defensive aggressiveness, Frankfurt also did a better job getting to the free throw line as German Justin Onyejiaka demonstrated twice. But Frankfurt was unable to get over the hump as superb role player Finn Fleute drilled home a three pointer and ex Rhondorf center Alex Moeller made an easy lay up as Frankfurt´s 1-1 defense and communication was lacking to trail 40-24. “We were trying to settle down. We were playing with a lot of emotion, but just kept chipping away. We were trying to come back with chunks with the three pointer instead of going chip by chip”, stated David Muenkat. The shooting percentages of Duesseldorf had dipped, but were still solid at 48% from the field and 42% from the three point line while they grabbed 25 rebounds and had 11 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners still had terrible shooting percentages at18% from the field and 17% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Craig Lecesne at the FT line

The Fraport Skyliners continued to fight and cut the guests lead down to as much as 13 points, but could never get below 10 points as they still trailed big by 18 points after 30 minutes. After Alexander Richardson got an offensive rebound and made a put back, the Fraport Skyliners countered with a clutch three pointer by David Munekat to trail 43-27. After a Emil Marshall lay in, Frankfurt countered with a 5-0 run to trail only 45-32. After going 0/7 in the first half, Coplin came back in the third quarter and tried to shine through other things like his passing qualities with the perfect lob pass to Knauff for 2 points and then made a steal and dunk for the transition finish. Frankfurt´s intensity was good and they were making overall better decisions on offense and were less hectic like in the first half. But Frankfurt was unable to keep this momentum as Duesseldorf went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to 51-34. In the run the guests received a Lecesne offensive rebound and put back and Giese free throw, but the biggest bucket of the run was a poster dunk by Raiquan Clark over Jacob Knauf. “That was a crazy dunk. I never saw him get up like that before. He is a tough player and a real go getter. He shows up for the big moments”, warned CJ Anderson. “Jacob did a good job contesting, but I gave up the penetration. He is an athletic player”, commented David Muenkat. Justin Onyejiaka nailed a trey and Finn Fleute made a tip in as the ART Giants Duesseldorf led 55-37 after 3 quarters. “We stayed solid on defense. We tried to force them to shoot over us. We kept the intensity high and really wanted to win”, expressed CJ Anderson. “Our emotions were big. We weren´t as focused as we should have been. Our attention was more on the result than on in game. They also continued to hit shots to keep the big lead”, added David Muenkat. The Art Giants Duesseldorf shot 47% from the field and 33% from the parking lot and had 37 rebounds and 14 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners shot 20% from the field and 17% from the parking lot and had 30 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

David Muenkat lay in

In the fourth quarter the contest took a nose dive turn to the better for the Fraport Skyliners as that first quarter was reversed in favor for Frankfurt as they gained the lead and pulled out the win. The Fraport Skyliners began on a lethal 8-0 run to cut Duesseldorf´s lead to 55-45. In the run, Booker Coplin was rejuvenated adding 6 points while David Muenkat stole him the show with a brutal alley-oop dunk as the Minnesota native who played the last 2 years in Duesseldorf made the accurate lob pass. “That was a nice dunk, but not even in my top 10. I have a good resume on dunks”, smiled David Muenkat. Duesseldorf then got their first field goal of the last quarter as Anderson made a lay in and free throw somewhat easing the momentum that Frankfurt had created. But the Fraport Skyliners just kept pushing and shots continued to fall as they cruised on a 14-0 run to take their first lead of the game at 59-58. “They missed a lot of easy lay ups and we stuck with it. The momentum shifted and the fans were huge. They carried us”, stated David Muenkat. “We lost focus. We are a young team. We relied too much on 1-1 play”, stated CJ Anderson. In the run, Frankfurt got a key three by pro B play er Trevian Bell who can play 5 games for the team and a runner by Jordan Samare. Coplin topped off the run with back to back three´s. After being totally hyperactive in the first half, he calmed down in the second half and executed. “We were all struggling on offense. We all stuck with it. Booker was ready when we needed him most. We kept encouraging him and we count on him to deliver”, stated David Muenkat. Frankfurt were the better team on the boards led by the stability of David Muenkat and Duesseldorf got away from their team game and struck out with their 1-1 play. Anderson and Richardson free throws game Duesseldorf the lead back at 60-59, but only briefly. Muenkat stole Coplin´s earlier three pointer show by making consecutive lay in´s and a free throw for the 64-60 advantage. Ben Shungu who had been quiet with scoring then nailed a massive trey to trail only 64-63. After Frankfurt was stopped, Richardson made a free throw to tie the game at 64-64. Warnholtz who had been quiet shooting them made the clutch dime to 34 year old Marco Voeller for the lay in and 66-64 advantage with 32 seconds to play. Justin Onyejiaka then dropped one free throw to lead 68-65 with 17 seconds to play. Duesseldorf could have tied with a three pointer, but coughed up the ball. Bell added 3 free throws to seal the win. “We really wanted the win at the end and let the fans have something to cheer about. We really appreciate the fans. We finished strong and left it all on the floor”, stressed David Muenkat. “We drew up that play for our big and then to get an open three pointer. We got a bad bounce. It can happen”, stated CJ Anderson. The Fraport Skyliners were led by Booker Coplin with 14 points. David Muenkat added 11 points and 13 boards and Justin Onyejiaka 10 points while the ART Giants Duesseldorf were led by Craig Lecesne with 15 points while Raiquan Clark had 12 points. The Fraport Skyliners shot 29% from the field and 22% from outside and had 46 rebounds and 12 turnovers while the ART Giants Duesseldorf shot 38% from the field and 25% from outside and had 46 rebounds and 17 turnovers.