As the top team in the Pro B south, the Dragons Rhondorf are always on every team´s radar and the club that everyone wants to defeat. Last weekend the Dragons Rhondorf went into enemy territory and had a slip up against BG Leitershofen snaping their 5 game winning streak. They didn´t shoot the ball well and were outclassed on the boards. The club came back home an dwanted to send their fans into Christmas in a good mood, but had to face a tough 6-6 Fellbach team who as a new team in the Pro B have shown their scrappy side this side. They have been playing good ball as of late having won 4 of their last 6 games. They had a potent trio with Butler, Kronhardt and Thompson that they had to be aware and somehow slow down. On a rather mild early winter evening, the Fellbach Flashers didn´t have their potent trio complete as German center Andreas Kronhardt was out, but the Flashers fought hard and made a brutal comeback in the fourth quarter and just came up short as they couldn´t contain Kelvin Omojola who powered the Dragons Rhondorf to their 11th win and remained unbeaten at home. “We didn´t play a good first half. We were nervous, had no real rhythm and had way too many turnovers. In the second half, we were more relaxed and played Fellbach team basketball and created good shots for each other. We fought hard to the end, but just came up a bit short”, stated Fellbach guard Zaire Thompson. The Dragons Rhondorf played a strong offensive game, but were unable to put away Fellbach early, but did a great team effort making the needed stops in crunch-time and receiving the needed 8 point push from Kelvin Omojola to get them the win. “We played a good first half, but let up in the third quarter. We lost focus and gave them confidence. It was a dog fight until the end, but our team basketball got us the win”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf guard Kelvin Omojola.

Zaire Thompson at the FT line

Both teams came out nervous as it was tight in the first minutes, but down the stretch of the first quarter, the Dragons Rhondorf found their game and were able to lead by 9 points after 10 minutes. The Dragons Rhondorf began well taking the rapid 8-2 lead getting buckets from Tyreese Blunt who scored on transition, Omojola connected on a trey and Avery Sullivan (203-F/C-1999, college: Lamar) made an offensive rebound and put back. The Dragons Rhondorf played aggressive defense that led to turnovers and allowed them to get extra possessions and get out running. Fellbach couldn´t get good ball movement going so they had to play more isolation ball and were rewarded through the superior athleticism of Brian Butler who has 300 + Pro B games and Philadelphia native Andre Gillette with easy baskets and trailed only 8-7. But the Dragons Rhondorf finially got their three ball going as they cruised out on a 12-4 run to lead 20-11. Rhondorf was sparked by 3 three´s by ex Ehingen forward Antonio Pilipovic, ex Orange Academy guard Marko Rosic and ex Coburg guard Tyreese Blunt. Fellbach remained aggressive getting to the hole as Gillette scored twice, but Rhondorf had that depth getting 5 points from young 17 year old German sensation Janne Muller. “We played ok defense. Our game plan was to double Butler, but we didn´t do a good job containing him. Gillette came up big making us pay for his good play”, said Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot44% from the field and 56% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Fellbach Flashers shot 43% from the field and 0% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Lars Berger from outside

In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf continued to be in control of the contest and led by as much as 14 points, but let Fellbach hang around and led only by 10 points at the break. Fellbach began well into the second quarter getting potent support from German guard Mark Golder who supplied 4 points from the bench to trail only 28-21. The young Germans from Rhondorf Muller and Diallo continued to be hungry and delivered with 5 points. Muller continued to be that scoring spark hitting a three pointer for the 33-21 advantage. Then came possibly the 2 most spectacular plays back to back started by a thunderous one handed dunk by Brian Butler. Butler has been feared since years with his dunks as the ex easyCredit BBL slam dunk champion who lists Gerald Green and Vince Carter as his dunking role models silenced the Dragon Dome. “That dunk was huge. We knew going in that if he dunked, we wanted to try to get a dunk on the next play”, smiled Kelvin Omojola. That is exactly what happened as Avery Sullivan supplied the dunk punch, but it was less the throw down that dazzled, but more the behind the back pass from Janne Muller with that twist of Larry Bird in his passing qualities. “We don´t really see that much in practice as it is more his scoring. He is a pure scorer, but he has a high IQ, so he always knows where we are”, laughed Kelvin Omojola. Rhondorf still led 35-23 as they matched Fellbach´s physicality and showed that anyone can step up. Fellbach had their offensive moments getting a jumper by Thompson and lay in by Gillette to cut the Dragons lead to 37-28, but they just couldn´t make real ground as they couldn´t get stops. Blunt scored and Muller continued to be a real menace picking his spots very well and scoring as Rhondorf led 47-35. Fellbach closed out the second quarter strong with a 6-2 run getting more added energy from the bench as little used German Nik Schlipf who played at 2 NCAA 2 schools hit a massive three pointer and sniper Lars Berger made a lay in but the Dragons Rhondorf led 53-43 at half-time. “Our bench set the tone in the second quarter. We had problems on the boards. It was a tough task without Leon Bulic”, stated Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 48% from the field and 58% from the three point line and had 15 rebounds and 8 turnovers while the Fellbach Flashers shot 48% from the field and 13% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Janne Muller at the FT line

The Dragons Rhondorf continued to control the contest and led as much as 19 points, but Fellbach never hung their head and trailed only by 9 points after 30 minutes. Gillette got Fellbach on the board first with a lay in, but then came a 2-3 minutes bad phase by the guests as they coughed up the ball 4 times and led to a 8-0 run by the Dragons as they led 61-45. In the run, the team got 4 baskets from Omojola, Blunt, Pilipovic and Silic all on the drive. After a Gillette lay in, Rhondorf continued to find their spots well as Pilipovic and Sullivan scored in the paint area as Rhondorf led 65-47. Texas native Avery Sullivan watched a lot of David West growing up when he was with the Spurs. “That hook shot had something from West. Nothing what Avery does surprises me. He is an all around great player”, warned Kelvin Omojola. But how quickly a lead can be cut down was displayed by Fellbach as they nailed back to back three´s by Thompson and Berger and the latter then added a lay in as Fellbach trailed only 67-55. Rosic stopped the Fellbach run with a trey, but that didn´t faze Fellbach as they countered with a lethal 8-2 run to close out the third quarter to trail only 72-63. In the run Fellbach was aided by Thompson and Lithuanian guard Tauras Ulevicius as well as free throws from Butler and Thompson. “We came back through defense and team play. We continued to rebound well despite not having Kronhardt. We continued to defend aggressively and physically”, expressed Zaire Thompson. “We lost some focus. We had less energy. Teams can come back when they simply play hard. They made us play with their aggressive play”, stated Kelvin Omojola. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 50% from the field and 45% from the parking lot and had 24 rebounds and 13 turnovers while Fellbach shot 49% from the field and 25% from the parking lot and had 29 rebounds and 17 turnovers.

Avery Sullivan with the lay in

In the fourth quarter the Fellbach Flashers continued to chip away and fight and got the lead once, but just couldn´t keep it. Fellbach jumped all over Rhondorf with a 7-2 run to cut the lead down to 74-70. Fellbach got lay in´s by Schlipf and Gillette and a key three pointer by Thompson. Rhondorf then got some vital support from Blunt and Sullivan who scored inside and Fellbach trailed by 8 polints and gave the Dragons some breathing room. Despite all the exerted energy by Fellbach, they somehow still had conserved some energy and somehow pulled out an incredible 10-2 run to deadlock the game at 80-80. In the run ex Fordham (NCAA) guard Zaire Thompson led the charge with 7 points with 2 lay in´s as his quickness was a thorn in the Dragons behind all night long and a deep three pointer. Thompson finished with 22 points and 8 assists and really it was just another normal day at the office for him. “I gave my best. I was served very well by my teammates. We were in a good flow and I hit my shots”, stressed Zaire Thompson. After Muller hit free throws, it was durable reserve player Nik Schlipf who hit a clutch trey for the 83-82 lead with a few minutes remaining. “They got hot and went on a run. We couldn´t get stops. It was a snow ball effect and they kept building on it”, stated Kelvin Okojola. But when you have a deep and talented team like the Dragons Rhondorf, you never know who will be the hero. 2 weeks ago, Kelvin Omojola did like Ricky Rubio dishing out 12 assists against Breitengussbach and today did like Steph Curry nailing 8 of the last 10 Dragons points to secure the win. “I didn´t plan it. I knew that I had to be aggressive. I knew I had to make plays and gained more confidence with every shot”, added Kelvin Omojola. In his 8 point play, he made a 10 footer, three pointer and 3 free throws. “Omojola is a super player and hurt us at the end. He is a team player that can create shots”, stated Zaire Thompson. The Dragons Rhondorf were led by Avery Sullivan with 20 points and 10 rebounds and Janne Muller added 18 points while the Fellbach Flashers were led by Zaire Thompson with 22 points and Andre Gillette added 18 points. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 48% from the field and 42% from outside and had 29 rebounds and 16 turnovers while the Fellbach Flashers shot 54% from the field and 33% from outside and had 35 rebounds and 21 turnovers.