On the last regular season game day in the Pro B, there were very exciting duels in both the north and south concerning the last playoff places, but in Frankfurt there was a game that had absolute no meaning for one team the Frankfurt team. On account of a disgusting 7 game losing streak in the crunch-time of the season, they weren´t going to be in the playoffs this season. It could have been exciting for Frankfurt on this last game had they not lost 2 of the last 3 games by only 2 point margins which was extremely bitter. For Fellbach, it had no real meaning either as they had secured home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Fellbach hadn´t been playing great basketball as of late as they had lost 3 of their last 5 games, but wanted to end the regular season on a positive note with a win and have some momentum in the playoffs while Frankfurt wanted to end the season on a positive note as well. On a very warm early Spring evening, the favorite SV Fellbach Flashers found to their game midway through the first quarter and never looked back leading by as much as 27 points as their experience totally overwhelmed the Skyliners youth as they played catch up basketball all night long as Fellbach won 82-68 securing third place in the Pro B south. “Our goal coming in was to get the win and keep building into the playoffs. We noticed that they didn´t hit the 3 well the last games so we played zone. We wanted to play it safe and trust our game plan. Our offense was good, but became a little stagnant in the second half when they switched more. I feel that we can still reach the next level on offense”, warned SV Fellbach Flasher Malik Whittaker. The Skyliners Juniors came in as the underdog lacking experience and a big man that could challenge Mayr as Malik Kordell was injured and just couldn´t get a groove on the defensive end. “Fellbach was a tough opponent. We wanted to enjoy the last game. We fought until the end and learned from our mistakes in the last games where we lost some tough games. We found a solution for the zone in the fourth quarter by making quicker passes and not being selfish and taking good shots”, stressed Skyliner Junior Namori Omog.

Jamie Edoka from outside

The Skyliners Juniors were without Bruno Albrecht, Malik Kordell and Chuku Chukwuma and held strong for the first 5 minutes as they got 2 great individual efforts by 17 year old German Jamie Edoka with runners in traffic while Felix Hecker dropped a trey and 20 year old German Leo Cosic made a lay in. Fellbach countered with super execution spreading the love around playing inside out ball as Whittaker added 5 points with a lay in and trey while ex Fordham (NCAA) guard Zaire Thompson made a step back jumper and Mayr free throws as the game was deadlocked at 9-9. But The Skyliners Juniors couldn´t keep up as Fellbach cruised out on a 11-2 run to lead 20-11. In the run they got super production from Mayr with 4 points and a massive 2 handed dunk, a dunk from Bulgarian forward Jeremy Kolev and a lay in from Whittaker. Fellbach did a good job getting the ball inside and attacking the constant mismatches with Daniel Mayr (218-C-1995). Fellbach defended with a high intensity and forced the Skyliners Juniors to many turnovers. German Julius Messer then hit a trey, but Fellbach continued to apply pressure ending the first quarter with a 5-0 run as Thompson dropped a trey and ex Reutlingen forward David Grubic made a lay in as the Fellbach Flasher led comfortably 25-14. “Fellbach had a lot of experience and played a tough zone. It was tough going against the much taller Mayr. Frankfurt made small mistakes like not seeing a player, making a bad pass or just over dribbling”, stressed Skyliner Junior Florian Dietrich. The SC Fellbach Flashers shot 53% from the field and 40% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Skyliners Juniors shot 46% from the field and 29% from outside and had 7 rebounds and 8 turnovers.

Daniel Mayr at the FT line

In the second quarter the SV Fellbach Flashers could build their lead a bit more in which they allowed the Skyliners Juniors to only 8 points and led 42-22 at the break. After ex Idstein guard Mickey De Sousa and glue guy Marvin Esser traded baskets, it was the SV Fellbach Flashers that found their way on another run of 8-0 to extend their lead to 35-17. In the run, they were able to get 2 baskets inside from Whittaker and Mayr as the American dominated with his 1-1 strength and Mayr used the mismatch while the other 2 buckets were on transition as Whittaker scored again as did ex Tuebingen NBBL player Nik Schlif. Fellbach defended well, but Frankfurt was also sloppy on offense, but their inexperience and youth also played a role. Frankfurt defended well down the stretch allowing only 7 points, but on offense just couldn´t execute well against their zone as they would get stifled time in and time out again and Fellbach got big blocks from Mayr and Brian Butler. Mayr scored 4 points and Thompson dropped another trey while the Skyliners Juniors got a lay in from Joschua Zentgraf who played a career high 31 minutes and had 9 points and 9 rebounds including 6 offensive rebounds. German Maximillian Peters also added a three pointer from the corner. “We were sloppy on offense which led to easy baskets by them. We tried to play fast against their zone, but without success. We were lacking experience which led to turnovers”, stated Florian Dietrich.

Dusan Nikolic with the runner

In the third quarter the Skyliners Juniors were able to execute better, but couldn´t get any ground on Fellbach losing the quarter 22-17 and trailed 64-39. The Skyliners came out roaring and had a great start going on a 8-2 run to trail only 44-30 as suddenly there was some hope again for the young team. In the run, the Skyliners Juniors got 3 points from the universal genius Ivan Crnjac who stayed very cold on this night going 1/6 from the field, a trey from Edoka and another lay in from Cosic. However the Skyliners Juniors couldn´t take that momentum and build on it as Fellbach punched back with a 11-0 run to lead 55-30. Whittaker was a scoring machine with 7 points while Mayr added 4 points. Fellbach continued to attack the paint area and Whittaker´s athleticsm and quickness helped him carry to easy buckets. Frankfurt wasn´t lively enough at both ends allowing Fellbach to have easy execution. After another Edoka trey, Fellbach went on another run of 7-2 to lead 62-35. Mayr kept getting the ball inside and punishing the Skyliners Juniors with 5 points. Butler also added a turn around shot as 2 points was all he had on this night, but he dished out 4 assists, one prettier than the other. On this night Mayr really looked like a man among boys. “It wasn´t just easy today for Daniel, but in general the game comes easy to him. He is a very skilled big man that does a great job finding the weak side shooter, getting to the ft line and making shots”, warned Malik Whittaker. The Skyliners Juniors closed out the third quarter strong with a 4-2 run as Dusan Nikolic made a lay in and Omog a 15 footer at the buzzer. “We wanted to come out into the third with a good quarter. In the past, we haven´t had good starts. We put our foot on the gas”, commented Malik Whittaker. “Mayr dominated in the third quarter. It was difficult against him as he was 2 heads bigger than us. It was even more difficult when Butler was on the court at the same time. Both are so strong and smart and know how to find the open man”, explained Namori Omog. The SV Fellbach Flasher shot 66% from the field and 38% from the three point line and had 17 rebounds and 8 turnovers while the Skyliners Juniors shot 42% from the field and 29% from the three point line and had 18 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

Malik Whittaker with the runner

The Skyliners Juniors didn´t give up in the fourth quarter, but closed out their season with a explosive 29 points while keeping Fellbach to 18 points. Felix Hecker began strong scoring 5 points and Nikolic added a trey and Peters a lay in as Fellbach suddenly only led 69-47. Mayr continued to be active scoring 4 points, but Frankfurt stepped up their defensive intensity knowing as it would be 5.5 months before the start to the new season. Hecker continued to be motivated and found his rhythm dropping 2 more three´s as his high rainbow shot is always beautiful to observe as Fellbach led 76-57. Nikolic also added 5 points as the Skyliners Juniors had strung along a lethal 14-4 run to trail only 78-63. In the last minutes Moritz Schneider and Grubic made lay in´s while the Skyliners Juniors got a floater from Edoka and 3 points from Zentgraf to end the game. The Skyliners Juniors may have lost the game, but they conquered Fellbach´s zone in the last quarter and most Skyliners had smiles after the game. “We weren´t focused to finish the game. We have to work on that. We will face teams in the playoffs that will hurt us if we aren´t focused”, warned Malik Whittaker. “We never gave up. We wanted to end the season well and not go disappointed into the break. We put more pressure at both ends of the court and weren´t selfish”, warned Namori Omog. The SV Fellbach Flashers were led by Daniel Mayr with 27 points and Malik Whittaker added 22 points while the Skyliners Juniors were led by Felix Hecker with 14 points while Jamie Edoka added 12 points. The SV Fellbach Flashers shot 62% from the field and 36% from outside and had 25 rebounds and 12 turnovers while the Skyliners Juniros shot 47% from the field and 37% from outside and had 26 rebounds and 14 turnovers.

There was no live stats in second quarter, so stats in article from 3 quarters,