The new year woes continued for the Fraport Skyliners as they came into the game against Rasta Vechta 2 riding a 2 game losing streak and slipped to fourth place. Only 2 weeks prior had the Fraport Skyliners met Vechta on the road and suffered a brutal 96-78 loss where they relied too much on their three ball and couldn´t stop the opponents three point rain fall accumulating to 15 jumpers. It was no secret that the Fraport Skyliners wanted revenge in their own living room. Rasta Vechta has been an organization on the rise in the last years as all their teams are in some form successful as they do it and rely on young German kids and a young and hungry head coach with Hendrik Gruhn who led Vechta into the Pro B and Pro A and the NBBL U-19 team to back to back finals. For the Fraport Skyliners it was a must win and the troops of German head coach Dennis Wucherer didn´t disappoint as they stepped on the floor from the get go on a mission and played the Skyliners ball of old that had been witnessed in the first 9 games as they overpowered Rasta Vechta 2 with a convincing 89-61 win. Canadian David Meunkat that is feared as a mismatch nightmare also unleased his off balance shot that was absolutely lethal on this afternoon and was more than super content after the game ending siren sounded. “We dominated for 40 minutes and stayed focused and aggressive and never took the foot off the gas pedal. We did a good job getting to the free throw line and was consistent on defense getting consecutive stops and used our physicality to our advantage at both ends”, stressed Fraport Skyliner forward David Muenkat (201-F-2000, college: St.Francis X.). Rasta Vechta 2 was unable to find the momentum from the win over Frankfurt a few weeks ago as they had to play catch up basketball all day long and had no remedy how to control Frankfurt´s efficient offense. “We knew they would come out aggressive, but we weren´t ready to match their physicality. We gave them open shots and easy baskets in the paint. They took away our ball movement and forced us to difficult shots”, explained Rasta Vechta 2 guard Kevin Smit. “This was a must win. The defense carried us to the win”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Felix Hecker.

Jacob Knauf at the FT line

Rasta Vechta had to endure the absence of Johan Grunloh and Luc Von Slooten who played with the easyCredit BBL teasm in Ludwigsburg while Frankfurt was missing Kevin Mcclain who had the flu and Bruno Vrcic who still wasn´t 100% ready to return. In the first few minutes of the first quarter, both teams were feeling each other out and the guests actually had 2 leads as they got baskets inside from veteran guard Kevin Smit and ex Regionalliga player Roman Bedime. But it didn´t take Frankfurt long to find their lead as they jumped out on a 14-7 lead as they took a break from the 3 ball and concentrated on getting the ball inside and playing transition. Frankfurt was rewarded with 2 buckets from Minnesota native Booker Coplin who was his usual aggressive self and super athlete Justin Onyejiaka. Frankfurt was in a flow at both ends especially on defense where nothing Vechta got on shot selection was easy. 2023 NBBL champ Jack Kayil dropped a trey as Rasta Vechta 2 trailed only 14-10, but Frankfurt then went on a brutal 14-4 run to have the overwhelming 28-14 advantage after one quarter. In the run, Frankfurt received superb support from elegant player Jacob Knauf who supplied 7 points while 2018 JBBL champ Nolan Adekunle added a trey and Muentkat and ex Indiana State (NCAA) guard Cameron Henry added baskets. ”We set the tone early and got good stops. On offense we didn´t settle for difficult shots, but just made the game easy on ourselves. We did a good job making it hard for Kaden Anderson. Brenneke did a good job on him. He went off on us in Vechta and we took it personally”, warned David Muenkat. The Fraport Skyliners shot 56% from the field and 25% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 2 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 33% from the field and 20% from outside and had 5 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

Kaya Bayram from outside

In the second quarter Rasta Vechta 2 was able to heighten their intensity and continued to fight, but the Fraport Skyliners just did enough offensively to never trail by less than 8 points as they still had the comfortable 11 point advantage at the break. In the first 3 minutes the guests got some vital input from ex easyCredit BBL player Kevin Smit who added 5 points while Kayil added free throws and ex ANGT player Karl Buehner scored on transition as Frankfurt had their lead shaved to 33-23. Both teams had a good rhythm on offense and Rasta Vechta 2 just couldn´t make any real ground on Frankfurt. The guests got solid support from 2023 U-18 euro Bronze winner Linus Trettin, Texas native Elijah Schmidt and Bedime with lay in´s while Kayil added an off balance shot while Frankfurt was aided by a Booker Coplin lay in, Muenkat three pointer and pretty old school hook shot by Knauf. Frankfurt continued to do a masterful job on 3 time Pac West winner Kaden Anderson as he was held scoreless at the break. Frankfurt led 42-31 at the break. “Vechta came back through their transition. Frankfurt kept playing with high intensity and were strong on the rebound”, stated Felix Hecker. The Fraport Skyliners shot 48% from the field and 27% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 5 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 33% from the field and 22% from the three point line and had 16 rebounds and 6 turnovers. “We didn´t take our foot off the gas pedal. We stayed level headed and continued to play our game. We remained really physical and let them feel it”, expressed David Muenkat.

David Muenkat with the off balance shot

In the third quarter the Fraport Skyliners continued to execute at a good rate on offense as Rasta Vechta battled and battled, but just couldn´t get over the hump. The Fraport Skyliners came out focused after half time and began with a 7-2 run to extend their lead to 49-33. In the run Frankfurt got key contribution from Canadian Aiden Warnholtz with a turn around shot, an Onyejiaka trey and Brenneke lay in on transition after an Onyejiaka block. Frankfurt just continued to play their game and stuck to the game plan with smart execution and using their physicality and exploiting the mis matches. Bedime continued to shine for the guests as he was a work horse inside scoring while Onyejiaka remained aggressive and scored on the drive as Frankfurt led 51-35. Then at the 5,30 minute mark of the third quarter, Washington native Kaden Anderson was finally set free out of his scoring misery as he made his first field goal with a free throw as Rasta Vechta 2 trailed 51-39. In the next minutes Frankfurt had a few defensive break downs as they allowed three´s to Anderson and Kayil, but they were led by David Mr off balance” Muenkat who would supply 4 difficult off balance shots. “I grew up playing at the YMCA and on playgrounds. We played without fouls and you had to find ways to score. That is why I´m unorthodox in how I score. I have been used to it”, smiled David Muenkat. Frankfurt also got added scoring insurance from Onyejiaka and Knauf to lead 65-49 after three quarters. “We continued to remain aggressive and physical on defense and on offense we knew what to look for and stayed patient”, said David Muenkat. “We continued to fight, but we also suffered dumb turnovers and they punished us. We are a young team and have to learn from our mistakes”, stated Kevin Smit. The Fraport Skyliners shot 51% from the field and 22% from the parking lot and had 33 rebounds and 6 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 47% from the field and 29% from the parking lot and had 25 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Kayden Anderson at the FT line

In the fourth quarter the Fraport Skyliners slammed the door shut on Rasta Vechta 2 as they held the guests to 12 points while scoring24 points. The Fraport Skyliners didn´t waste anytime as they unleashed a 9-0 run to start and kept their high defensive intensity extending their lead to 74-49. In the run Frankfurt sparkled with their unselfishness sharing the ball with love as Samare scored in the paint and Knauf added a massive dunk. Cameron Henry continued to show his 2-way player qualities as he made a steal in the back court and scored an easy basket and later took after teammate Muenkat with an off balance shot. The guests had lost some steam and Frankfurt just continued to execute beautifully. Anderson stopped the Frankfurt run with a lay in and Bedime followed with a fine hook shot as Frankfurt led 76-53. But Frankfurt had no long offensive lapses as they punched back with back to back buckets by Lorenz Brenneke as Rasta Vechta 2 trailed 80-53. The guests got some added punch from 2022 NBBL champion Kaya Bayram and Elijah Schmidt, but that was it as Frankfurt finished the game with continued great execution as Samare made a hook shot, Warnholtz added 4 points and ex Hanau sniper Bruno Albrecht supplied a three pointer as Frankfurt easily won 89-61. “They got a little discouraged in the fourth quarter. They are young and have potential. They will figure it out”, added David Muenkat. “Frankfurt felt it and it was tough getting back into the game. We tried it with three´s, but it wasn´t enough”, added Kevin Smit. The Fraport Skyliners were led by David Muenkat with 17 points while Jacob Knauf added 15 points while Rasta Vechta 2 were led by Jack Kayil with 11 points and Kaden Anderson with 10 points. The Fraport Skyliners shot 52% from the field and 21% from outside and had 42 rebounds and 7 turnovers while Rasta Vechta 2 shot 36% from the field and 23% from outside and had 32 rebounds and 12 turnovers.