After a long summer vacation, it was finally time for the Fraport Skyliners Juniors to kick off the Pro B season. The club as usual is there to showcase their young German players and give them minutes, but one thing was different than in previous years. They were even younger this season. They lost veterans like Marco Voeller, Nils Leonhardt, Alvin Onyia and other younger players like Leif Zentgraf, Trevian Bell, Calvin Schaum and Jordan Samare. They were also very brave going into the season without an American. The good news was that Philipp Hadenfeld was back after taking 6 months off to full-fill a University obligation down under. On the first game day, Frankfurt met another really young team with Team Ehingen who brought in some new players from Spain, USA and Sweden to help bolster the roster of mostly young Germans. It was a close game through out and it came down to a last Skyliner shot that just didn´t want to fall. Frankfurt seemed in control as crunch-time came, but then it was the Aav and Martinez show who combined for the last 8 points to seal the narrow win. “This win showed the kind of personality that we have this season and what we are capable of doing. We didn´t find our groove in pre-season, but showed tonight that we can fight for 40 minutes. We played for each other and we executed the pick and roll defense very well. We helped each other well and moved the ball well and found our spots well”, stressed Team Ehingen guard JJorke Aav (184-PG-2005). The Fraport Skyliners Juniors are a young team that showed they could get out of adversity many times, but when it counted at the end, they were stopped on the last possession on a shot that could have won them the game. “After our 8-0 run, we allowed something like a 22-7 run. You can´t let that happen. This was a tough loss for us, but we stuck together well. Ivan Crjnac was ejected which didn´t help our cause either. All in all, we can be happy with how we played in our first game. We are a young team and it can only get better”, warned Fraport Skyliner Junior Malik Kordel.

Malik Kordel at the FT line

The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were missing 3 guys with Marvin Esser, Florian Dietrich and Jaime Edoka while Team Ehingen was without Finn Doentgens. Frankfurt began with a fury going on a lightening 8-0 run as their 3 ball was popping as veterans Felix Hecker and Bruno Albrecht connected while Philip Hadenfeldt dished up a nice alley oop dunk for Kordel. The veterans were leading the charge and the team was sprouting with nonending joy. But that joy and energy didn´t hold long as the guests slapped a 8-0 run right back n the faces of Frankfurt as Ehingen attacked the paint and got relatively easy baskets twice from ex Swedish youth national player Rickhard Rietz while Aav and ex Hanau guard Tim Martinez scored. Frankfurt had problems finding an offensive rhythm as their 3 ball was totally shut down and just allowed the guests to get past them and get the 15-12 lead as they continued to get easy buckets inside as Spanish big man Albert Prior scored as did Rietz again. Diminutive 173cm guard Travis Davis drilled a trey for the 3 point lead. Frankfurt had problems with Ehingen´s changing defenses as they would throw everything at Frankfurt with press, man and zone. On the offensive end they continued to get easy baskets as Prior and 204cm big Man Leon Geissler scored and Davis closed out the first quarter with a lay in and 22-15 advantage. “Ehingen did a good job locking up on defense after the 8-0 Frankfurt start. Ehingen played tough and their press messed up Frankfurt and their aggressiveness disrupted Frankfurt´s offense”, commented ex Giessen Pointer Chris Miller. Team Ehingen shot 48% from the field and 13% from outside and had 12 rebounds and no turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 36% from the field and 33% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Jorke Aav from outside

In the second quarter Team Ehingen controlled the game leading by as much as 12 points, but in the latter part of the second quarter, the Fraport Skyliners Juniors staged a comeback and trailed only by 4 points at the break. Team Ehingen began with a 10-5 run to extend their lead to 32-20. In the run the guests got production from Aav with a trey while Rietz and Martinez scored in the near distance. Frankfurt continued to struggle with offensive execution while on defense couldn´t contain the paint area well enough as they allowed easy baskets. That basketball is a game of runs is no secret as Frankfurt finally found some daylight and closed out the second quarter with a lethal 13-5 run to trail only 37-22 at half-time. The run was started by veteran Felix Hecker who nailed a trey, but then it was the young German kids that showed real responsibility. The universal genius Ivan Crnjack supplied 5 points with real key baskets scoring on transition and then making a real heads up play getting an offensive rebound and put back. Namori Omog made a lay in as did Malik Kordell who was given the extra pass from Ivan Crnjack. “At the start of the quarter, Ehingen continued to attack the mis matches and get easy baskets. Hecker picked up the energy and the others followed. Ivan Crnjack gave great energy. Frankfurt wasn´t using their big man Kordell enough”, stated Chris Miller. Team Ehingen shot 43% from the field and 13% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 5 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 38% from the field and 20% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 9 turnovers.

Caleb Bellach at the FT line

In the third quarter both teams executed their offenses fairly well, but no team could escape the other as the game was very close. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors began motivated with a 11-2 run to lead 44-39. In the run it was 17 year old Ivan Crnjac who proved he is a 3 level scorer as he scored with the drive and a trey while Hadenfeldt hit a trey and then dished out a pretty behind the back past to Kordel who made the thunderous dunk. “I see those kind of passes from him all the time. He does a good job always seeing me. He has a really good IQ which helps”, stated Malik Kordel. But Team Ehingen came back and chipped away at Frankfurt´s lead going on a 6-0 run to grab the lead back at 45-44. Aav led the offense as playmaker and scorer as he made a fade away and Montana native Caleb Bellach made a lay in. It was now a real game of runs as Frankfurt retaliated with a 8-2 run as now it was Bruno Albrecht that took charge scoring twice for their 52-47 advantage. But the runs didn´t stop their as Team Ehingen took charge one more time closing out the third quarter with a 9-2 run to lead 56-55. Team Ehingen wasn´t having any fortune with the 3 ball, so they just continued to get the ball inside as Drago Crnjac, Bellach and Geissler connected for easy baskets. “We had problems in the first minutes how to rotate on Kordel. It was really a game of runs. On our runs, we were more physical on defense and took advantage of our quick hands”, commented JJorke Aav. “We got beat on the rebound. They were more physical. We are a young team and have to improve on that. We have to work harder and hustle more”, warned Malik Kordel. Team Ehingen shot 43% from the field and 9% from the parking lot and had 31 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 40% from the field and 26% from the parking lot and had 33 rebounds and 16 turnovers.

Dusan Nikolic from downtown

In the fourth quarter it was a real dog fight where no team could break away from the other. The fourth quarter began with a bang as Mr magician Travis Davis made an incredible acrobatic lay in for the 58-55 lead. The small German guard couldn´t break into the Ludwigsburg rotation, but in Ehingen is focused and hungry with the chance he is getting. “He came from Ludwigsburg to us for a chance in the Pro B. I work with him everyday. He is an amazing player that reads plays so well. He makes up for his small size more than you would think”, warned JJorke Aav. Frankfurt hit back with Omog and Kecker baskets, but Davis continued his aggressive play dropping a trey to dead lock the game at 61-61. Frankfurt then took charge getting a left handed lay in by Hecker, a lay in by Kordel and a clutch three pointer from 2023 JBBL finalist Maximillian Peters as Frankfurt led 68-62. Kordel finished with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks in 25 minutes. “I can always get better and have to work harder”, added Malik Kordel. Frankfurt had the momentum, but Team Ehingen was still alive. The guests battled back as aggressive Estonian guard JJorke Aav got to the free throw line twice and Tim Martinez made a clutch jumper to tie the game at 70-70 with 1,37 to play. Aav then scored for the 72-70 lead, but Bruno Albrecht tied the game at 72-72 with an off balance shot with 35 seconds to remain. Frankfurt had one last possession with 11 seconds to play, but Hadenfeldt´s last shot flew right and jumped off the rim for the loss. “We knew that they would take the 3. We switched on the screen and denied Albrecht the last shot. We wanted Hadenfeldt to take the shot”, expressed JJorke Aav. “We didn´t have a good eye on the clock and didn´t have good timing. They knew we would take the 3 so the odds were against us”, stressed Malik Kordel. Team Ehingen was led by JJorke Aav with 20 points while Albert Prior had 11 points and Tim Martinez had 10 points while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Bruno Albrecht with 15 points while Felix Hecker and Ivan Crnjac added 14 points a piece. Team Ehingen shot 42% from the field and 11% from outside and had 41 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 41% from the field and 23% from outside and 44 rebounds and 20 turnovers.