Even if the Fraport Skyliners entered the Munster game in third place, there had to be an uneasy feeling with head coach Denis Wucherer. Ok so one can get swept by Trier, but getting swept in the season series by a sixth placed team like Hagen in the crunch-time part of the regular season has to be disheartening. In this phase of the season, teams have to be focused and tweeking everything for the post season. No team in the Pro A is a cake walk and for Frankfurt they had to be ready for the next annoying opponent with the Uni Baskets Munster. They were currently in 8th place and one of the surprise teams of the season. They have been playing really spirited basketball as of late winning 7 of their last 8 games and showing that they want to reach the post season. They have had a knack this season of winning a hand full of crunch-time games and wanted revenge for the bitter 91-67 loss to Frankfurt in their living room at the start of the season. The Uni Baskets Munster were a much different team then and the Fraport Skyliners had to be ready. Frankfurt was ready and once again destroyed the Uni Baskets Munster by the score of 91-60. The Fraport Skyliners showed again why they are the leagues best defensive team while offensively totally overpowered the guests hitting 13 three´s as 8 Skyliners connected and shot 53% from the 2 point area and demolished them on the boards 54-28. “We began well on defense bothering their 2 best players Scott and Touray. That led us to play good team defense and we sustained it well for 40 minutes. On offense we really got all we could as they allowed us everything. We also hit many shots which helped”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Ife Ajayi. The Uni Baskets Munster had no identity on defense and on offense weren´t able to share the ball. They reached their peak and now are struggling to make the palyoffs. Their unacceptable play for 40 minutes led one to wonder how they could be playing for the playoffs. “We didn´t come out to fight and had no energy. We went a lot farther than people expected us to come this season. We have to play like a playoff team now, but we aren´t doing that. We only beat 1 playoff team this season with Jena”, stressed Uni Baskets forward Nathan Scott.

Ife Ajayi at the FT line

It didn´t surprise anyone that on Easter Sunday and the weather surprisingly warm for late March that only 2,400 people came to watch the game. The Fraport Skyliners had their woes as big men Lorenz Brenneke and Jacob Knauf were out, but after 40 minutes one could of carefully proclaimed that they didn´t need them on this afternoon. But those who did come saw a great start by the Fraport Skyliners as they jumped all over Munster rapidly to lead 9-2. Frankfurt let it rain three´s early as Canadians David Munekat and Aiden Warnholtz scored while ex Vechta forward Justin Onyejiaka used his great athleticism and attacking to score in the paint. Frankfurt began aggressively on defense not letting Munster inside the paint. Munster then was rewarded by 5 points from ex Skyliner Cosmo Gruehn who played youth basketball with Isaac Bonga back in the day. However Munster couldn´t make any ground as Muenkat got in the zone quickly connecting two more times from the parking lot lifting Frankfurt to the 19-9 lead. Frankfurt was focused and had a high intensity and defensively didn´t let the guests get into a flow and slowed down Scott and Touray nicely. Frankfurt continued to be super aggressive offensively as their bench stepped up as ex EWE Baskets guard Kevin Mcclain scored twice inside as Frankfurt led 25-11. However Frankfurt wasn´t able to close out the first quarter with the momentum as they allowed Munster on a 6-1 run to trail only 26-17. In the run, it was less Munster team play, but more superb isolation from the Americans as ex Shippensburg (NCAA2) guard Carlos Carter made 2 off balance shots and ex Auburn Montgomery (NCAA) American James Graham also scored. “We knew we had to make up for missing 2 of our bigs. We are a deep team and came out strong on the right note. We felt it early on offense and locked up on defense. Our play gave us a lot of self confidence”, warned Ife Ajayi. The Fraport Skyliners shot 63% from the field and 50% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 4 turnovers while the Uni Baskets Munster shot 38% from the field and 17% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 4 turnovers.

James Graham with the shot

In the second quarter the Fraport Skyliners continued to control the game and stayed consistent at both ends and upped their lead to 21 points at half-time. Frankfurt continued to execute beautifully and went on a 19-7 run to begin the second frame to lead 42-24. In the run, it was the David Muenkat (201-F-2000, college: St.Francis X.) show as he connected on 15 of the 19 points and was a one man wrecking crew as he had 22 points at the break. He nailed one three pointer, but did most of his damage with his overpowering play and aggressiveness on the drive. He scored a pretty lay in where he used every once of his athleticism and then followed it up on the next play with a tap in. You don’t only see acrobatic dunks or massive blocks in his tool box. “He is young and I´m so proud how he has played. He is so versatile. We talked a lot this week that we have to shoot more. He had a great night. When he gets in a flow, his confidence rises”, stated Ife Ajayi. But it wasn´t only Muenkat who was doing damage but also Justin Onyejiaka who followed him with back to back baskets as he scored 5 points and Frankfurt had the 47-26 advantage. Defensively the Fraport Skyliners were tough and kept the zone closed which continued to force the guests to tough shots. If there was one guy who could make the off balance shot then it was James Graham as he connected twice in the last minutes while also be a force on defense swatting away 2 balls. “I take pride on 1-1 plays. I love defense though. I never want guys scoring on me. I always like the challenge to guard 1-5. I´ll guard anyone”, warned James Graham. Fraport Skyliner Jordan Samare closed out the second quarter with a trey after getting the kick out pass from Booker Coplin as Frankfurt had the comfortable 51-30 lead. “Our team defense carried over to our offense. We didn´t let them into the zone. We take a lot of pride of being the best defensive team. We switched 1-5 and our half court trap annoyed them as well as our constant pressure”, added Ife Ajayi. The Fraport Skyliners shot 54% from the field and 40% from the three point line and had 26 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the Uni Baskets Munster shot 37% from the field and 20% from the three point line and had 14 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Justin Onyejiaka with the shot

In the third quarter the Fraport Skyliners continued to be consistent at both ends and execute well as they scored 27 points and upped their lead to a mind boggling 34 points. In the first minutes the Fraport Skyliners lost a little focus as they seemed blinded a bit by their big lead. The Uni Baskets Munster had some misfortune as James Graham was hit with a technical foul. However ex Bucknell (NCAA) guard Avi Toomer who won 2 Patriot League titles nailed back to back shots and Nathan Scott who played at Central Washington (NCAA) hit a three pointer as Frankfurt led only 56-38. The guests profited off careless Frankfurt turnovers. After Marco Voeller made free throws, Adam Touray who played 4 easyCredit BBL games made back to back lay in´s as Munster finally found some ways inside to trail 58-42. However as if this seemed to be Munster´s calling card to continue their run, they were smothered by a lethal 20-2 Frankfurt run to decide the game after 30 minutes as Frankfurt led 78-44. In the run the Fraport Skyliners weren´t aided by David Muenkat who surprisingly remained scoreless in the third quarter, but were led by the duo of Ife Ajayi and the Swiss army knife Cameron Henry who played at Indiana State with 8 points a piece. Ajayi added 2 three´s, while Henry displayed his fine 2 way player skills also making a three pointer and reverse lay in. “We gave up. Coach kept saying we have to play like a playoff team, but we didn´t. Our biggest weakness was our passing. We didn´t pass the ball and had too many turnovers and were destroyed on the boards”, said Nathan Scott. “We noticed they were going to roll over. We knew we had to tap them out. We never let up on defense continuing to make them work hard for every shot”, commented Ife Ajayi. The Fraport Skyliners shot 53% from the field and 43% from the parking lot and had 38 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the Uni Baskets Munster shot 37% from the field and 24% from the parking lot and had 18 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Cosmo Gruehn from downtown

In the fourth quarter as is usually the case when your up big, the Fraport Skyliners let up, but still defended with heart and passion allowing only 16 points and easily sealing up the home win. The Fraport Skyliners actually began off hot going on a 8-1 run to extend their lead to 86-46 as McClain and Ajayi connected for three´s and ex Alba Berlin German Nolan Adekunle made a floater. The game was long decided now and the Fraport Skyliners checked out mentally allowing the Uni Baskets Munster to end the game with a 14-5 run. In the run the guests were led by Cosmo Gruehn who scored 8 points with 2 three´s and American Carlos Carter scored 5 points. With 2,28 to play, the Fraport Skyliners had 5 Germans on the court something you see rarely in the pro A. “It was cool to see so many Germans on the court at the same time. It was nice to see Bruno Albrecht get a lot of minutes. It was a tough week for us with injuries so coach rested Muenkat and let the Germans play more”, stated Ife Ajayi. “I really have no answer for how we played today. We didn´t play like a playoff team. We play lesser teams now and have to win”, warned Nathan Scott. The Fraport Skyliners were led by David Muenkat with 22 points and 12 rebounds while Ife Ajayi added 15 points and Justin Onyejiaka had 12 points. The Uni Baskets Munster were led by Jasper Guenther and Carlos Carter with 10 points a piece. The Fraport Skyliners shot 45% from the field and 37% from outside and had 54 rebounds and 14 turnovers while the Uni Baskets Munster shot 38% from the field and 26% from outside and had 28 rebounds and 15 turnovers.