Even if the Frankfurt Skyliners won´t play in the post season, their fans had one thing to look forward to in the game against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and that was seeing the debut of diminutive 173cm point guard Duke Deen. He may not be the savior this season, but he could become sort of a fan favorite if his flashy play dazzles the fans.Unfortunately he didn´t play. Frankfurt was rebounding after a tough loss on the road against MBC while the EWE Baskets Oldenburg also wanted to start a new winning streak after losing their second game in a row on the road in Bonn. They made a spirited comeback at the end, but it wasn´t enough. Skyliner fans welcomed the current top scorer of the easyCredit BBL with Justin Jaworski who found his spots better in the second half. The EWE Baskets Oldenburg might have been in 12th place, but only a win away from the last playoff spot. On a cool Wednesday evening, The Frankfurt Skyliners showed a good effort for 40 minutes and took control of the game in the second quarter and then did a superb job managing the lead and won 83-72. “We found to our intensity early on and did a good job taking their shooters out of the game. We hit shots at a high clip. We continued to hit shots well until the end”, stressed Frankfurt Skyliner Garai Zeeb (187-PG-1997). The EWE Baskets Oldenburg were put in the hole early and never could get over the hump as their lax defense paid the price with the loss. “Our defense was a big theme tonight. We couldn´t control the 1-1 play. We also let them run too much on transition and didn´t rebound well when we had to”, stressed EWE Baskets Oldenburg guard Len Schoormann.

Len Schoormann at the FT line

The first quarter was a tight affair as both teams started off slowly and the EWE Baskets Oldenburg then took the lead, but Frankfurt finally found their rhythm and led by 5 points after 10 minutes. Oldenburg couldn´t hit the ocean from outside and went inside more getting an offensive rebound and put back by 25 year old German Norris Agbakoko and ex Heidelberg guard Justin Jaworski made a 15 foot catch and pop shot while Frankfurt got early production from ex Boston College forward Patrick Heckman and Lithuanian big man Einaras Tubutis as Frankfurt pushed the ball inside whenever they could as the game was dead locked 10-10. Frankfurt then began to get more space moving the ball around better which led to more open looks going on a 10-5 run to lead 20-15 after 1 quarter as Alaska native Kamaka Hepa and Zeeb drilled home three´s, Danish champion Malik Parson made a 20 footer and Jordan Theodore a lay in. Frankfurt shot 57% from the field and 40% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 6 turnovers while the EWE Baskets Oldenburg shot 28% from the field and 13% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 4 turnovers. “Frankfurt took time getting adjusted to Oldenburgs hedge. Once they did, they found their rhythm and played faster. Tubutis was huge getting steals and rebounds. He is the man for the dirty work”, stressed TV Langen guard Drago Crnjac.

Jordan Theodore from outside

In the second quarter the Frankfurt skyliners took over and really went to work showing what kind of an offensive arsenal they have exploding for 30 points and leading 48-34 at half-time. American Marcus Domask and ex Skyliner Len Schoormann traded buckets in the first minute as Frankfurt led 22-17. Then came the turning point of the game from which Oldenburg never recovered from as Frankfurt went on a 11-4 run to lead 33-21. In the run, it was the spirited play of Garai Zeeb as he steered 8 points on 2 three´s and made the assist to the trey by Domask. Zeeb was involved in all 11 points. “He gave us a big spark off the bench. He always brings energy and is so important as he is an extension of Klaus Perwas. He did a great job on Jaworski and is a big leader for us”, warned Jordan Theodore. Even when Oldenburg punched back with a three pointer by Geno Crandle, Frankfurt most usually had a positive offensive answer. Frankfurt kept going inside attacking the mismatches and got easy baskets by Tubutis, Heckmann and Theodore to extend their lead to 41-27. Frankfurt did have problems inside giving up too many easy baskets especially to Agbakoko who hurt Frankfurt countless times and Schoormann twice got offensive rebounds that led to put backs which can´t occur to a guard like him. But Frankfurt had no offensive lulls and continued to execute well as Theodore connected on a high rainbow from the parking lot and Heckmann and Tubutis scored inside as well as Frankfurt went into the break with the comfortable lead up by 16 points. “Frankfurt had better ball movement and they hit at a high percentage. When you see the ball go in a few times, then the basket looks a lot bigger. Frankfurt switched a lot against their bigs which allowed a lot of 1-1. They had to box out better”, warned Drago Crnjac. Frankfurt shot 63% from the field and 50% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 9 turnovers while the EWE Baskets Oldenburg shot 37% from the field and 7% from the three point line and had 19 rebounds and 6 turnovers.

Geno Crandall with the dunk

In the third quarter the Frankfurt Skyliners gave up their most points in the game with 21, but the guests couldn´t make any major ground and still had the good looking 12 point lead after 3 quarters. The EWE Baskets Oldenburg jumped all over Frankfurt early going on a 8-2 run to trail only 52-42. Ex Lafayette (NCAA) guard Justin Jaworski was the main man in the run scoring 6 points with a trey and 3 free throws. Both teams lived off runs as Frankfurt punched back with a 6-2 run to lead 58-44. In the run, it was Tubutis who continued to be a menace in the paint area scoring twice while Parsons displayed his lethal 1-1 qualities making a runner. Jawroski then lobbed a perfect pass to Crandall for the dunk and then hit 2 treys, but Oldenburg couldn´t get closer than 9 points to trail 63-52 as Frankfurt always had an answer and just played with a ton of confidence. Heckmann and Parsons hit three pointers to keep Oldenburg at bay as Frankfurt led 67-55 after 30 minutes. “We did 3 things really well in the third quarter. We continued to move the ball well, defended with a high intensity and rebounded well”, added Garai Zeeb. “When you don´t hit the three well, then you need to find other ways to win. We began well, but overalljust gave up too many easy baskets and on offense had too many turnovers”, added Len Schoormann.

Patrick Heckmann form downtown

Frankfurt continued to manage the lead well in the fourth quarter, but then had a little offensive lull mid way through, but they didn´t let up, but instead got some fresh energy from the bench with Garai Zeeb who sparked a last run that sealed the win. Frankfurt began hot and looked like they might decide the game early going on a 8-2 run to extend their lead 75-57. Parsons was key in the run with 4 points as Theodore also made a floater and Muenkat a lay in. Frankfurt upped their defensive pressure which led to Zeeb steals that sparked the offense. Zeeb then took a breather and Oldenburg punched back with a 7-0 run to trail only 75-64. In the run, the guests went inside 3 times getting easy baskets from Crandall, Schoormann and Agbakoko. Frankfurt looked a bit fatigued and were forcing their offense too much. However Zeeb came back in and drilled home a trey which led to a Lorenz Brenneke free throw and another trey by Jordan Theodore which slammed the lid on the game as Frankfurt led 82-64 with a few minutes to play. That three gave Garai Zeeb his highest scoring game in the BBL with 16 points. “I always want to play well. I realized early on that I had the hot hand. I´m glad I stayed hot”, smiled Garai Zeeb. Oldenburg did close out the game with a 8-1 run as Crandall made another trey and Jaworski 5 points, but it was too little too late. “It was a very intensive game. They switched a lot and we didn´t have a rhythm. However we came together as a collective in the end to get the win”, said Garaí Zeeb. “We tried to play transition. They hit big three´s. Our rotations didn´t work”, said Len Schoormann. The Frankfurt Skyliners were led by Garai Zeeb with 16 points while Einaras Tubutis ahd 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks and Jordan Theodore added 12 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists while the EWE Baskets Oldenburg were led by Justin Jaworski with 21 points and Len Schoormann added 14 points. The Frankfurt Skyliners hot 51% from the field and 36% from the parking lot and had 37 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the EWE Baskets Oldenburg shot 37Y% from the field and 23% from the parking lot and had 40 rebounds and 18 turnovers.