Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners didn´t waste anytime getting their groove as they broke out leading 13-2. In the run, Frankfurt was led by captain Ivan Crnjac with 5 points. However Frankfurt shared the ball nicely and also got baskets from Tiago Mousa, a three by Namori Omog and a lay in by athletic wing man Maximillian Peters. Frankfurt played nice inside out basketball and played aggressive on ball defense as guards Omog and Jamie Edoka were all over the court. Ludwigsburg weren´t hitting shots, but were aggressive and getting to the free throw line as ex Ehingen German Leonard Laar did and Daniel Hinkov made a lay in to trail 16-8. But Frankfurt had no let downs as they let the 3 ball fly and had superb support from the bench as Finley Pruever nailed 2 three´s and Fabrice Heberer also scored as Frankfurt led 27-12. Ludwigsburg just couldn´t match the intensity of Frankfurt and gave up too many open three´s. Eho Idemudia added the sixth three pointer of the first quarter and even got a 4 point play as Frankfurt led comfortably 31-14. Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners shot 61% from the field and 55% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 4 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 23% from the field and 13% from outside and had 6 rebounds and 6 turnovers. “We came out ready. We defended really well and that sparked our offense. We were able to play our game and get out on transition”, stated Ivan Crnjac.

Ivan Crnjac at the FT line

Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners didn´t waste anytime getting their groove as they broke out leading 13-2. In the run, Frankfurt was led by captain Ivan Crnjac with 5 points. However Frankfurt shared the ball nicely and also got baskets from Tiago Mousa, a three by Namori Omog and a lay in by athletic wing man Maximillian Peters. Frankfurt played nice inside out basketball and played aggressive on ball defense as guards Omog and Jamie Edoka were all over the court. Ludwigsburg weren´t hitting shots, but were aggressive and getting to the free throw line as ex Ehingen German Leonhard Laar did and Daniel Hinkov made a lay in to trail 16-8. But Frankfurt had no let downs as they let the 3 ball fly and had superb support from the bench as Finley Pruever nailed 2 three´s and Fabrice Heberer also scored as Frankfurt led 27-12. Ludwigsburg just couldn´t match the intensity of Frankfurt and gave up too many open three´s. Eho Idemudia added the sixth three pointer of the first quarter and even got a 4 point play as Frankfurt led comfortably 31-14. Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners shot 61% from the field and 55% from outside and had 13 rebounds and 4 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 23% from the field and 13% from outside and had 6 rebounds and 6 turnovers. “We came out ready. We defended really well and that sparked our offense. We were able to play our game and get out on transition”, stated Ivan Crnjac.

Leonhard Laar at the FT line

In the second quarter Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg found their offensive rhythm and outscored Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners by 4 points but still trailed by 13 points at half-time. Ludwigsburg came out reborn in the second quarter and began with a 9-4 run to trail Frankfurt only 35-23. In the run, Ludwigsburg got full support as 2024 JBBL (U-16) top 4 candidate Armin Pivac made a lay in, Sebastian Kuhn a pretty finger tip lay in, Daniel Hinkov was alert catching a Laar airball and making the lay in while Laar also scored. Frankfurt´s defense wasn´t as tight anymore and Ludwigsburg upped their intensity and continued to attack the paint. But Frankfurt demonstrated that they can make a run like lightening making 8 unanswered points to lead 43-23. In the run Frankfurt got good support from the lethal guard duo of Omog and Edoka. Crnjac began the run with a touchdown pass to Omog for the lay in. “I have bene making these passes since I was younger. When I get the rebound my teammates run forward. They know I will pass it. I did a lot in JBBL”, said Ivan Crnjac. Omog made a steal and went on transition with Edoka left who got an alley oop pass and tap it. Raphael Edward gave great energy making 2 lay ins as Omog and Edoka distributed the dimes. But Ludwigsburg retaliated again as it was a game of runs as they smacked back with a 11-3 run to trail 46-34. In the run it was Stanislav Hinkov who was the go to guy on this day supplied 7 points and Dominic Mack added 4 points. Edoka scored again while Eneko Haug Alonso made a trey at the buzzer as they trailed 50-37. “We let up and didn´t make shots as well. We were still solid and kept the lead. On defense we had problems with communication and 1-1 defense”, stated Ivan Crnjac. Eintracht Frankfurt/Skyliners shot 54% from the field and 47% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 11 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 44% from the field and 27% from the three point line and had 12 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Stanislav Hinkov with the runner

In the third quarter Frankfurt continued to control the game, but Ludwigsburg just wouldn´t go away, but couldn´t really get over the hump as they cut the lead down to as much as 9 points. Frankfurt began with extreme energy going on a 6-2 run as Ivan Crnjac was explosive making a steal and thunderous dunk and lay in while Peters also scored in the paint as Frankfurt led 56-40. Both teams executed well as the guests continued to get great support from Sebastian Hinkov who scored 7 points, but swapped buckets with Frankfurt and just couldn´t get over the hump and trailed 60-48. Frankfurt wasn´t as stable anymore and Ludwigsburg took advantage of it and kept attacking and getting to the free throw line as Mack showed twice with baskets, but Frankfurt still led 62-52. Down the stretch Stanislav Hinkov scored again as die Edward as Frankfurt still clung to the lead 66-55. “Even when some guys didn´t score, we always had support from the bench. We knew that we could always score due to our depth”, commented Ivan Crnjac. “We were more disciplined on defense and talked more. Key for offense working better was getting stops. We got baskets on transition”, said Daniel Hinkov. Eintracht Frankfurt-Skyliners shot 51% from the field and 41% from the parking lot and had 31 rebounds and 18 turnovers while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg shot 45% from the field and 27% from the parking lot and had 19 rebounds and 17 turnovers.

Ivan Crnjac to the hole

In the fourth quarter, Porsche BBA Ludwisgburg made on last push to make the game really exciting. They began with a bang scoring 5 points in a row. Lukas Schuetz came form the bench hitting a three pointer and then came the Dominic Mack show as he made an explosive poster dunk on Jamie Edoka as Frankfurt led only 66-60. “That was one of the most crazy poster dunks that I ever saw in my life. The whole bench got excited. You don´t see something like that often”, stated Daniel Hinkov. “That kind of a dunk belongs to the game. It came out of nowhere. It is always hard for a player to get on a poster, but he took it as motivation and played even harder”, stated Ivan Crnjac. But Crnjac struck back with free throws, a three pointer and a dunk on transition while in between, Mack made another dunk this time with 2 hands, but Frankfurt still led 74-62. There wasn´t much time left, but Ludwigsburg still had energy left and made one last run of 15-4 to suddenly trail only 78-77. In the run, it was the talented duo of the Hinkov brothers who kept chipping away and made big shots as they made 8 points combined. They also got a clutch three pointer from reserve guard Samuel Kurr and Laar made a lay in. “We wanted to win more. We had great energy that helped us in the run”, said Daniel Hinkov. Crnjac then struck with a clutch three pointer for the 82-78 lead. “My responsibility is to take big shots. I have the self-confidence and will take them”, warned Ivan Crnjac. Kuhn and Omog then traded buckets as Frankfurt led 84-80. After a Frankfurt stop, Laar made a lay in to trail 84-82. Frankfurt again was denied to close out the game and were stopped. Ludwigsburg had one more opportunity, but Stanislav Hinkov had a good look for the tie, but missed. “We defended well, but I was still a little scared when he took it. Both guys were taking those bump off step backs and making them all game long. We were a little lucky as well”, expressed Ivan Crnjac. “It was a good shot from him. We had no spacing. He is our leader and takes those kind of shots”, added Daniel Hinkov. Eintzracht Frankfurt/Skyliners were led by Ivan Crnjac with 22 points while Namori Omog and Rephael Edward chipped in with 12 points a piece while Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg was led by Stanislav Hinkov with 22 points while Daniel Hinkov added 17 points and Dominic Mack had 14 points. Frankfurt shot 46% from the field and 39% from outside and had 38 rebounds and 21 turnovers while Ludwigsburg shot 49% from the field and 30% from outside and had 29 rebounds and 20 turnovers.