There couldn´t have been bigger extremes between the first two Germany opponents at the Albert Schweitzer tournament as they destroyed Bahrain by 57 points and 24 hours later had a tough opponent with Slovenia. Slovenia led from the get go and controlled the game, but Germany never let up as they fought all game long always having to exert extra effort in their comeback attempts. In the last few minutes Germany came together and buckled up on defense and got a late trey from Ludwigsburg guard Lars Danziger and a game winner from Skyliner Jamie Edoka (195-G-2008) to bring Germany to 2-0 before their clash with Turkey the next day. Before the game began one could see a massive fan community for Edoka as family and friends were there as well as coaches from the Skyliners Pro B and NBBL team. In the end Edoka and his followers were all rewarded with an incredible finish that many won´t forget so who witnessed it. “We had a tough start and weren´t awake. We never gave up fighting and had to withstand runs. We played with heart and were proud to represent our country. We gave all we had and were able to turn the game around at the end. We wanted it more”, stressed Jamie Edoka. The loss couldn´t have been more painful for Slovenia who controlled the game for the most part and then lost at the end on a last shot. “We were much better than yesterday. Our approach was much better. We were a lot more aggressive and were able to stop their transition. That made a difference. 5-5 was tough since they had more length. Despite the loss, I was satisfied with their reaction to the Japan game”, stressed Slovenia head coach Dejan Cikic.

Jamie Edoka at the FT line

Slovenia didn´t waste anytime totally jumping all over Germany as they rolled out to a quick 8-2 lead. Slovenia was led by versatile Lukas Nikola Bojovic who made 3 steals and 2 baskets while quick guard Igor Stjepanovic and Maks Ceperle also added lay in´s as the feared transition game of Germany was actually played by Slovenia. Slovenia´s aggressive on ball defense was brutal as Germany was unable to come to terms with it. Then occurred an untypical 20 minute delay because there was a problem at the scouting table. When play resumed, the break didn´t benefit Germany, but moreover Slovenia as they continued their aggressive play going on a 9-2 run to up their lead to 17-4. Germany was taking better care of the ball, but Slovenia stayed aggressive and attacked the paint and got to the free throw line. Germany then finally got out of their shell and responded with their first run of the game 10-2 and suddenly Slovenia only led 18-14. Key in the run was energy from Leonard Kroger and William Dopfer who came from the bench and added instant buckets. Germany finally matched the intensity of Slovenia and got more aggressive getting to the rim as FC Bayern Munich forward Casper Vossenberg added 4 points. Slovenia stayed ahead simply because Germany made some dumb mistakes like allowing Ciperle to make 3 free throws and Nejc Roznik made a lay in, but Germany punched back with a Youdom lay in and Lucai Anderson basket to trail 24-22. “Germany had a bad start. They had poor 1-1 defense and allowed Slovenia to the free throw line. Their ball movement was static, but the game changed for them from Kroger and Dopfer came in”, stressed Orange Academy head coach Florian Flabb. Slovenia shot 58% from the 2 point area and 14% from outside and had 8 rebounds and 1 turnover and Germany shot 50% from the 2 point area and 0% form outside and had 11 rebounds and 7 turnovers. Germany was lucky to be down 2 points with so many turnovers.

Maks Ciperle at the FT line

Slovenia remained in control in the second quarter, but they couldn´t shake Germany as they let them hang around. Slovenia began with a 4-0 run as Jazon Krosejl and Anid Pasic scored, but Germany punched back with a Youdom lay in and Vossenberg put back, but Germany still trailed 30-28. Slovenia continued to execute very well playing inside out basketball getting a trey from Pasic and lay in´s from Cizej and Ciperle for the 39-30 advantage. Germany kept punching back getting a massive dunk from Kroger and basket from Dopfer back door as Kroger supplied the dime. The way they were playing together in only their second game, it seemed like they could have been teammates for years, but Slovenia still led 41-34. Slovenia was getting too many transition baskets and on the set play way to easy baskets. However Germany had a little extra energy right before the break going on a 10-4 run to trail only 49-44. Jamie Edoka finally found his offensive rhythm adding 5 points. “He had a tough start, but in the last minutes showed his total talent”, stated Florian Flabb. Kroger made free throws and Youdom added a trey to get Germany back on track again. “Slovenia got too many transition baskets. Germany played smarter at the end having less contested shots”, added Florian Flabb. Slovenia shot 71% from the 2 point area and 17% from the three point line and had 15 rebounds and 4 turnovers while Germany shot 45% from the 2 point area and 22% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 10 turnovers.

Lars Danziger for three

Slovenia had their strongest quarter in the third scoring 28 points and leading by 15 points after 30 minutes. Slovenia jumped all over Germany in the first minutes going on a rapid 13-3 run to extend their lead to 62-48. Their three pointer finally got going as they let it rain three´s getting 2 from Ciperle and one from Kozel. Germany´s energy went down again as they were slow on the close outs and on help defense. However Germany didn´t lose total control getting some key baskets from Vossenberg with a runner and Alba Berlin forward Anton Kemmer hit a trey as Germany trailed 64-53. Germany went on a 7-0 run late to trail 69-62 as Kroger gave that needed energy from the bench again with 2 buckets inside while Vossenberg dropped a trey. However costly mistakes in the last minutes allowed Slovenia a lethal 8-0 run to lead 77-62 with 10 minutes to play. Gal Cop hit 3 free throws while Rok Kozel made a trey and Cizel a lay in. “That 8-0 against us was really costly. We made little mistakes and they hit us with transitions baskets”, said Jamie Edoka. “Once again our aggression helped us a lot giving us easy transition baskets and three´s”, added Dejan Cikic.

Lukas Nikola Bojovic with the runner

Germany never trailed by more than 10 points in the fourth quarter and scored 29 points in their come back. Germany caught Slovenia off guard slapping them with a 7-0 run to trail only 77-69. Germany upped their defense again as they were led by Lars Danzinger and Youdom who were scrappy and making life difficult for the Slovenian players. Edoka began the run with 3 points and big guard Fin Borczanowski showed his scoring qualities scoring twice. Then came a great phase by Germany as Lucai Anderson dropped 2 three´s in a row to keep Germany close at 83-79. “He has the quality to make shots like that. He also showed in those moments that he can step up and take on responsibility”, commented Jamie Edoka. However Germany wasn´t able to string along consecutive stops as they got baskets from Stjepanovic and Pasic to lead 87-81. However Germany never gave up and got the next super clutch shot from Anderson as he drilled home another trey to trail 87-84. After a Germany stop, Vossenberg made one free throw to trail 87-86. Slovenia´s nerves were sharp as clutch player Bojovic hit an incredible runner for the 89-86 lead. With less than a minute, Lars Danziger made a clutch trey to dead lock the game at 89-89. Youdom made a great play from the baseline seeing he didn´t have a good shot kicking out ot Danzinger for the open trey. “Lars is so vital for our success. He can do it at both ends. He also showed that you can rely on him to make the big shot”, explained Jamie Edoka. With 23 seconds to play, Slovenia had possession and Germany stopped them. With 5 seconds to play, Germany gave Jamie Edoka the ball at the base line and he made a routine mid distance shot for the winner. “We wanted to get some one a good look. I got the ball and had the confidence that I could make it. I was a little nervous when I saw the ball bounce on the rim, but so much more happy when it went in”, smiled Jamie Edoka. “We didn´t switch, We tried to block it, but he made a fantastic shot”, said Dejan Cikic. “I was hoping it would go in. We watched from the bench as it slowly went in and then jumped with joy”, stated Dusan Ilic. Germany was led by Jamie Edoka and Lucai Anderson with 14 points a piece while Caspar Vossenberg added 13 points while Slovenia was led by Make Ciperle with 21 points. Germany shot 46% from the 2 point area and 37% from outside and had 41 rebounds and 18 turnovers while Slovenia shot 58% from the 2 point area and 27% from outside and had 33 rebounds and 10 turnovers.