The good news for the Fraport Skyliners shortly before X-mas is that they were still in first place, but the bad news was that the other teams were creeping nearer in the standings and spinning a web looking to catch Frankfurt in the next weeks. So much time has elapsed since their last win at home on November 19th as since then the club had made a turn down losing their last 2 games on the road against Dresden and Artland. The low point of the season was losing to 0-10 Artland and finally allowing them to celebrate a win last weekend. Frankfurt has lost track of their gritty team defense they had played prior to the last 2 games as they allowed 84 points on average way below their average of 68 points per game. The good news from the standings view was that 3-8 team Bochum came to Frankfurt, but this was a team playing beneath their qualifications as they have began to play better since making changes in the roster adding David Cohn. Bochum was the perfect opponent for the Fraport Skyliners to get back on track and start a winning streak in their living room a place where they hadn´t lost yet this season. That winning streak at home remained as Frankfurt showed another great team effort dishing out 30 assists and having German Nolan Adekunle (200-PF-2002) come alive as he paced his team in the second half scoring 17 of his 22 points and leading Frankfurt to their 10th win of the season. “We needed a little time on defense to get going, but we did a good job forcing them to tough shots from the second quarter onward. We moved the ball and were able to get out on transition. All in all it was a good team effort”, warned ex Alba Berlin forward Nolan Adekunle. The VFL SparkassenStars came into the contest weakened as their potent guard duo of David Cohn and Niklas Geske were out as was their best big man Tom Alte. But Bochum didn´t hang their heads but fought hard, but just couldn´t slow down the Frankfurt offense. “We showed a good fight. We lost steam in the end. We had to have that next man up mentality with 3 guys out. I feel like we all came to play. They hit some big shots in crucial moments and that hurt us. I like how we came out with that shot out of the cannon mentality”, stressed Texas native and Bochum guard Matthew Strange.

Lorenz Brenneke had the FT line

Despite the VFL SparkassenStars being so undermanned, they came out on fire shocking the Fraport Skyliners with back to back three´s from 2019 NBBL champion Daniel Zdravevski and ex Paderborn guard Lars Kamp. That basketball is a game of runs is no secret as Frankfurt struck back with a powerful 8-0 run as ex Vechta JBBL MVP Justin Onyejiaka added 5 points and ex Augsburg (NCAA3) great Booker Cooplin added a lay in. Bochum struck back with a lethal 11-6 run which was fortified by 3 three´s by flat out sniper Quinn Nelson and a tip in by ex Bremerhaven youth player Vincent Friederici for the 17-14 advantage. Bochum kept the lead and pressure on as they just loved to shoot the three as Friederici who played 11 easyCredit BBL games answered with a trey and 20-16 lead. Frankfurt wasn´t playing hard edged team defense and simply allowed the Bochum shooters too much room. Frankfurt also wasn´t aggressive enough on the boards as Bochum had the 12-6 edge at that point. Frankfurt showed that they could play Bochum´s game by closing out the first quarter strong nailing 3 three´s as ex Paderborn forward Jacob Knauf connected twice as did ex Indiana State guard Cameron Henry. Matthew Strange finished the scoring with a trey, but Frankfurt led 27-25 after 10 minutes. Frankfurt was shooting very consistently at 56% from the field and 50% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the VFL SparkassenStars Bochum shot 39% from the field and 44% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 4 turnovers. “Bochum surprised us with their start. They took a lot of shots and we had problems with our 1-1 defense”, said Nolan Adekunle.

Killian Dietz dunk

In the second quarter the Fraport Skyliners kept the lead but couldn´t shake Bochum completely as they led only by 10 points at the break. The Fraport Skyliners had a super start going on a 7-0 run as they let the ball flow nicely in their ball movement as they got a trey from German Jordan Samare and lay in´s by Knauf and athletic German Nolan Adekunle for the 34-25 advantage. Frankfurt stepped up their defense and didn´t allow open shots and produced 5 stops. Strange finally broke free with Bochum´s first field goal at the 6,46 minute mark, but Frankfurt still led 34-28. Strange kept up the pressure and hit another jumper as Bochum trailed only 34-30. But not only Bochum showed that they could score in bunches, but so did Frankfurt as they scored 5 unanswered points with a lay in from 2018 NBBL champion Lorenz Brenneke and another trey by Adekunle for the 39-30 lead. Frankfurt was more calm on offense and not as hectic as in the first quarter and they upped their intensity on the boards and overall had higher defensive intensity. After a Quinn Nelson three pointer, Frankfurt was able to score in bunches again and grab their biggest lead of the game at 46-33 as they received lay ins from Brenneke and Canadian David Muenkat and a trey by ex Duesseldorf guard Booker Coplin. Bochum got some crucial baskets down the stretch as German Killian Dietz wo played 12 seasons in Trier scored as did Friederici. Aiden Warnholtz hit a three pointer as Frankfurt went into the break with the 49-39 advantage. “We played better transition defense and moved the ball better on offense. We got more open shots and were more aggressive getting to the rim”, added Nolan Adekunle. The Fraport Skyliners shot 35% from the field and 47% from the three point line and had 26 rebounds and 8 turnovers while the VFL Strassenstars Bochum shot 39% from the field and 28% from the three point line and had 19 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Aiden Warnholtz from outside

The Fraport Skyliners broke open the game in the third quarter exploding for 29 points and leading by 19 points after 30 minutes. The Fraport Skyliners were unable to keep their consistency for the first few minutes as Bochum came out of the locker room refocused and shocked Frankfurt with a 7-0 run as suddenly Frankfurt´s lead had dwindled to 3 points. In the run, Bochum got incredible support from Zdravevski who steered 5 points in the run with a trey and lay in and Vincent Friederici added a pretty floater. Frankfurt was playing hectic again and not focused at all which led to terrible decisions and turnovers. But the good thing for Frankfurt is that they have the ability to come back with all their talent and just roll over opponents as if it was the easiest thing. Frankfurt stormed back with a lethal 18-3 run to have the very comfortable 67-49 lead. In the run the Fraport Skyliners where steered by Nolan Adekunle with 8 points and 2 three´s. Warnholtz also added 5 points as Frankfurt was in cruise control. Frankfurt´s quick ball movement led to open shots as Bochum´s energy level was going down as they couldn´t get out on the shooters any longer. Bochum may have been getting tired, but their heart´s were still in fighting mode as they got 5 points from Friederici and a jumper from Nelson, but they couldn´t make any ground as Frankfurt´s offense never let up. Frankfurt continued to give Nolan Adekunle the ball and he stroked home two more three´s. This was Adekunle´s break through game as his months of inactivity as he was in a contract dispute seemed forgotten now. “I had to find my rhythm and today was another stepping stone. I had to keep building from game to game and this game gave me more self confidence. I had to make quicker decisions and my shots kept falling”, stressed Nolan Adekunle. The Fraport Skyliners upped their shooting percentages over 50% and had 36 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the VFL SparkassenStars shot 39% from the field and 36% from the parking lot and had 24 rebounds and 11 turnovers. “We began too sloppy. We have to get better at starting quarters. We finally woke up and had better execution. We upped our aggressiveness on defense because we knew that they would get tired”, added Nolan Adekunle. “Frankfurt had more depth and used it to their advantage. They knocked down many open shots and forced us to tough shots”, added Matthew Strange.

Quinn Nelson from downtown

he Fraport Skyliners kept up their consistent offense scoring above 20 points again and tightened up their defense allowing only 15 points and finishing the game strong. The Fraport Skyliners began strong again going on a 9-3 run to ultimately decide the game as they led 87-62. In the run Frankfurt attacked the rim taking advantage of the mis matches and height advantage as Jordan Samare scored twice, Knauf made a tip in and Adekunle dropped another three pointer. Frankfurt kept their defensive intensity high forcing Bochum to terrible shots and offensively kept attacking and allowed Adekunle to keep shooting. Bochum got some added energy from a Friederici jumper and 2 handed dunk by Killian Dietz, but Frankfurt then put the last exclamation point on the win as Swiss army knife Cameron Henry scored 7 unanswered points to give Frankfurt the 98-66 advantage. Bochum did get some garbage points from Friderici and 5 points from Strange, but it just wasn´t enough. Strange made a difficult lay up on the base line reading the defense and angle perfectly. “I always go hard until the buzzer. I never get worried about getting blocked. I was confident and you just have to be a little crafty to make that shot”, added Matthew Strange. Jacob Knauf made the last basket giving Frankfurt the magical 100 points. The ex Lincoln Memorial great is one of those players that can just explode at any moment. “We finished the game well. They took tough shots and their fatigue set in”, stated Nolan Adekunle. “We were exhausted and ran out of legs. We have to learn to keep up the good start and play consistently for 40 minutes”, added Matthew Strange. The Fraport Skyliners were led by Nolan Adekunle with 22 points. Jacob Knauf added 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jordan Samare 12 points and Cameron Henry 11 points while the VFL SparkassenStars were led by Vincent Friederici with 21 points while Quinn Nelson had 19 points and Matthew Strange 13 points. The Fraport Skyliners shot 53% from the field and 49% from outside and had 51 rebounds and 17 turnovers while the VFL SparkassenStars shot 37% from the field and 31% from outside and had 29 rebounds and 12 turnovers.