The up and down weeks of the Skyliners continued as they lost a tough crunch-time game in Trier. A few weeks before they also lost a tough crunch-time game in Rostock as finishing games well continues to be lacking. What the Skyliners needed badly was getting an opponent where they could get back on the winning track. With the lowly 3-10 Hamburg Towers, they had an opponent where if they played their game could shine again in their own living room the way they did recently beating Eurocup team Chemnitz with a Isaiah Swope buzzer beater. Despite having lost 5 of their last 6 games, Hamburg had upset Ulm on the road last weekend and came to Frankfurt with a lot of self-confidence. The Skyliners had to be ready and couldn´t take them lightly, but instead of controlling the game had to play pick up basketball all night long and their come back came up short at the end as they lost 82-78 moving to 8-9 while Hamburg moved to 4-10 with a massive win on the road. “We did a good job handling the runs of Frankfurt. We only had problems when we didn´t have pace and when we weren´t able to control the defensive rebound”, stressed Veolia Towers Hamburg guard Devon Daniels (196-G-1998, college: NC State). “We weren´t able to play as a team the way we wanted to. We had way too much 1-1 play and forced too much. We allowed way to many easy baskets”, stressed Skyliner guard Radii Casin.

Kenneth Ogbe at the FT line

The Skyliners had a great start, but then got sloppy and allowed the Veolia Towers Hamburg to find their game and trailed 18-16 after 10 minutes. The Skyliners jumped all over the Veolia Towers Hamburg taking the swift 9-0 lead with a little more than 3 minutes played. Ex Dragon Rhondorf guard Will Christmas found too his game right away scoring 7 of the 9 points with a trey and 2 lay in´s while ex G-League slam dunk contest winner Logan Johnson also made a lay in. Their aggressive defense led to easy offense while Hamburg looked anything like a easyCredit BBL team looking nervous and couldn´t get any good looks. However Frankfurt got sloppy and allowed the Veolia Towers Hamburg to find their game as they cruised on a 7-0 run to trail 9-7. Daniels got aggressive scoring 4 points while ex Meno College (NAIA) great Ross Williams added 3 points. Frankfurt got on track again with a massive dunk form ex Bonn center Till Pape after getting a nifty behind the back pass from Logan Johnson. “We don´t see that so often from Logan in practice, but every now and then”, smiled Radii Casin. But that didn´t rattle Hamburg as they went on a 11-5 run as Devon Daniel was a one man wrecking crew. He added 9 of the team 11 points in the run getting inside for 3 scores and also added a trey. Skyliner guard Isaiah Swope came off the bench and was back after his magical buzzer beater finish 2 weeks ago against Chemnitz, but he simply couldn´t find a real groove on this night. He played 4,17 in the first quarter going 0/2 with 2 turnovers. “Hamburg did a good job slowing down the game after our run. We had to play too much half court and they played good team defense not allowing us good looks”, stressed Skyliner guard Garai Zeeb. The Hamburg Towers shot 35% from the field and 13% from outside and had 8 rebounds and 3 gturnovers while the Skyliners shot 41% from the field and 25% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 5 turnovers.

Zacharie Perrin with the dunk

In the second quarter it was the Veolia Towers Hamburg that had the quick start that allowed them to control the game until the break where they led 35-28. The Veolia Towers Hamburg struck the Skyliners with a lethal 9-0 run to extend their lead to 27-16. In the run, Hamburg got 5 points from ex MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg forward Kenth Ogbe while ex French U-20 national player Zacharie Perrin made am offensive rebound and put back and LG Thorpe who played at UNC-Asheville scored a easy bucket on transition. Hamburg was very aggressive at both ends while the Skyliners were forcing too much and when they did get some open looks, they couldn´t execute. Frankfurt finally stopped the Hamburg run with 20 footer by ex G-League player Jaedon LeDee at the 6,12 minute mark. Frankfurt couldn´t muster much offense or team ball, but still had an excellent 1-1 player with LeDee who was the main man in keeping the Skyliners in the game. The Veolia Towers Hamburg continued to execute well getting a jumper from Williams and ex Ehingen forward Jared Grey dropped a 15 footer for the 31-20 advantage. Hamburg made good decisions while the Skyliners had a lot of mis fortune getting some good looks, but still not being able to execute. The team ball of Frankfurt was lacking but they continued to feed LeDee who added 4 points at the free throw line while Swope finally made his first field goal of the game with a runner, but the Veolia Towers Hamburg kept the advantage getting a tough lay in high off the glass in traffic from Thorpe while ex Ludwigsburg center Martin Breunig made an old school hook shot for the 35-27 lead. “We just didn´t have good team basketball. They did a good job keeping the ball out of our guards hands”, stressed Garai Zeeb. The Veolia Towers Hamburg shot 39% from the field and 13% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 8 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 29% from the field and 20% from the three point line and had 20 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Jaedon LeDee at the FT line

The Skyliners struck back in the third quarter scoring 28 points and tying the game at 56-56 after 30 minutes. The Skyliners began strong going on a 6-3 run to trail only 38-34 as Johnson made an off balance shot and LeDee a tap in while Pape made and offensive rebound and put back. However the Veolia Towers Hamburg always had an answer to keep Frankfurt at bay. German Osaro Rich drilled home a trey and Perrin made a hook shot for the 44-37 lead. However the Veolia Towers Hamburg continued to execute very well getting a runner from Daniels and a lay in by ex Braunschweig forward Benedikt Turudic for the 48-39 lead. After Christmas and Rich traded baskets and the guests led by 9, Frankfurt made a big 15-6 run to close out the third quarter. Frankfurt really stepped up their intensity at both ends. Will Christmas led the charge with his aggressive defense which led to 3 points while Swope got a steal and made a 20 footer at the shot clock buzzer to trail 50-48. American Ryan Hawkins added a trey, but Hamburg kept the slim lead getting an old school hook shot from ex FC Bayern Munich center Jan Niklas Wimberg for the 54-51 lead. However Frankfurt continued to battle and got free throws from Christmas, but Rich made a lay in for the 56-53 advantage. Frankfurt had one more possession in the third quarter and Will Christmas turned the arena into bedlam with a buzzer beater trey to dead lock the contest at 56-56. “We were a lot more aggressive at both ends. We were able to get out on transition more which allowed us easy baskets”, stated Radii Casin. “We weren´t able to paly our game anymore, but played more their game. When we ran, we were able to get more stops”, stated Devon Daniels.

Isaiah Swope with the jumper

The fourth quarter was a real dog fight as both teams punched back and forth, but in crunch-time, the Veolia Towers Hamburg made a few stops in a row and capitalized on the Skyliners mistakes to get the hard fought victory. Both teams big men took over in the first minutes as Perrin made an off balance shot and made a thunderous alley-op dunk after getting the perfect feed from big man Martin Breunig while the Skyliners center Till Pape made a trey and runner, but Hamburg still led 62-61. Then it seemed like Hamburg had gained some momentum as they got back to back dunks from Perrin and Daniels for the 66-61 lead. However the Skyliners fans were loud and cheered their team on and Frankfurt didn´t disappoint going on a rapid 7-0 run to lead 68-66. Pape made a lay in in traffic and LeDee dropped a clutch trey. Nobody could get away now as both clubs had a faze again where both punched backand forth. A LeDee dunk was followed by a Daniels floater to tie the game at 70-70. Daniels and ex Virginia Tech (NCAA) guard Nahiem Alleyne then followed with three´s as the game was tied at 73-73. Then came the turning point of the game as Hamburg went on a 6-0 run to lead 79-73 and they would never look back. Ross Williams added 4 points on free throws while Perrin made another massive dunk from the wing as there was a break down in the Skyliners defense as he had an open lane to the rim. Isaiah Swope had mis fortune missing a shot and causing a turnover. The Veolia Towers Hamburg now had control and managed the game well to the buzzer getting added free throws from Daniels, Perrin and Ogbe to seal the win. “We came together and stuck together making big shots. We also did a good job keeping them to 1 shot”, added Devon Daniels. “We couldn´t get stops. A big problem in the game wasn´t being able to string along 2-3 stops in a row. If you get more stops, then you get more comfortable on offense. We traded too many baskets”, added Radii Casin. The Veolia Towers Hamburg were led by Devon Daniels with 25 points while Zacharie Perrin added 14 points and 11 boards while Ross Williams added 12 points while the Skyliners were led by Will Christmas and Jaedon LeDee with 21 points a piece. The Veolia Towers Hamburg shot 48% from the field and 23% from outside and had 39 rebounds and 18 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 41% from the field and 31% from outside and had 36 rebounds and 13 turnovers.