Pic credit: photosbyKellz +Joshua Hoffmann

That successful German coach Florian Flabb is a basketball junkie is no secret. The guy just loves the game. On top of that he is also a nice guy who had a heart for my work last summer when he took time out of his long summer days supplying me with key quotes to single Germany games during the 2025 U-18 Euro championships. He led Ulm to the NBBL top 4 last season and this season led Pro B team Orange Academy with an average age of 18 to the best record in the league and now is battling to win the title. He also has an incredible knack of helping develop young talent and it is only logical that he supports his own players as best he can. It didn´t surprise me when I saw him at the Albert Schweizer tournament in Mannheim recently. His player Felix Kiehlneker (210-F-2008) was playing with Germany against Slovenia and he took time on his free Sunday to drive 200 + kilometers to help support him. “I knew that he would watch the Slovenia game, but I was very happy that he supported me like that. This is now my second season playing for Flo. I didn´t play so much last season because I was from the youngest year, but this season I began to play Pro B and he gives me a lot trust. I really appreciate his feedback after practices, games and timeouts. He told me at the start of the season to work on my physicality and energy and I have worked on it”, stressed Felix Kiehlneker.

Pic credit: photosbyKellz +Joshua Hoffmann

Germany played Bahrain first at AST and used it as a warm up destroying the Asian team 116-59. Germany totally controlled the boards 55-31 and had 6 players score in double figures led by Lucai Anderson with 16 points. “It was my personal goal to win the title, but I have to admit, I didn´t expect that we would win most games so easily. I think that we didn´t 100% need to start against a weaker opponent like Bahrain, but it was still good. We had never played together and only practiced 5 days before. All in all, it was good to begin against a team like Bahrian”, stressed Felix Kiehlneker. Jamie Edoka had a solid first game scoring 11 points and filled the stat sheet and was on his way to becoming one of the best players in the tournament. Could he be the next German after Isaac Bonga from the Skyliners to reach the NBA? “I have known Jamie since he is 14. He is a good friend, but also a great talent. With a lot of hard work, he could make the NBA”, warned Felix Kielneker. Germany next faced Slovenia and had their toughest challenge of the tournament. Germany started slow and had to play catch up basketball for most of the game. Germany picked up the intensity in the fourth quarter at both ends and won it with the masterful game winner by Jamie Edoka. “We definitely learned a few things from that game that we then did better in the final against Slovenia. We played overall better team defense, rebounded better and defended the pick and roll better in the final”, remembered Felix Kiehlneker. Edoka closed out the game with a pretty step back jumper on the baseline where the basketball God let it bounce around on rim and back board before finally rolling in. “The shot looked a bit far and we were a bit lucky that it went in, but in the end all that counts is that we won. We were so happy after that we all ran on the court”, said Felix Kiehlneker. Germany controlled the boards again 41-33 with 16 offensive rebounds and had 4 guys score in double figures. Lucai Anderson was top scorer with 16 points and nailed big three´s when Germany needed it in their come back. Caspar Vossenberg added 13 points and was one of those silent hero´s during the tournament stepping up in so many ways. “Caspar´s energy was so important for us, but also his support for everyone. He was always happy for everyone else”, remembered Felix Kiehlneker. Germany next faced Turkey where many Turkish fans showed up adding to a beautiful atmosphere. Germany was in control in the first half, but had a horrible third quarter being outscored 24-4, but retreated in the fourth quarter demonstrating that they can flip the switch at any time exploding for 29 points and winning easily 95-80. “We had problems in the third quarter. Edoka and I had gotten our fourth fouls. But we never broke down, but everyone fought back including everyone from our bench. We fought until the end”, warned Felix Kiehlneker. Germany once again dominated the boards 44-26 and offensive rebounds 20-8 and shot a potent 46% from outside. Germany was led by Lucai Anderson with 26 points and had 4 players in double figures. Fin Borczwanoski had a solid game of 13 points, but was in the shadow of Lucai Anderson´s brilliant scoring game. “Fin also was so key for our success not only in this game, but in every game. I didn´t know him before AST and was a little surprised how good a player he was. A big factor that helped us was how good of a scorer he was”, added Felix Kiehlneker..

Pic credit: photosbyKellz +Joshua Hoffmann

Germany then faced Sweden in the fourth game and won 91-56. After a tight first quarter, Germany then played consistent ball in the last 3 quarters averaging 22 points and allowing only 11 points on the way to a comfortable victory. Germany led by as much as 35 points and won the rebound duel 61-32. They also forced them to 6/37 shooting from outside. “I remember that we played extremely hard against Sweden. I had one of my best games. We passed the ball really well and won the rebound battle which was our goal to do every game”, expressed felix Keihlneker. Germany spread the love around with scoring once again totaling 5 players in double figures led by Edoka´s 15 points. Not only did Kiehlneker have a dominant double double, but so did Alba Berlin talent Anton Kemmer. “I love Anton´s energy. He is very communicative. He will be so happy for you when you make a big play like a dunk and will slap you. He is always talking”, said Felix Kiehlneker. The German domination continued against Japan winning 103-78. After a tight first quarter, Germany then exploded for 62 points in the second and third quarters paving the win. “Japan was very quick and hard to control. They ran very well, but we still were too strong for them and outpowered them”, said Felix Kiehlneker. Germany was led by Caspar Vossenberg with 17 points and had 4 guys score in double figures and won the rebound battle again easily 61-32 with 20 offensive rebounds. Germany was 5-0 and now met Brazil in the semi-finals. Was any one going to stop them? Germany witnessed a tight scoring first half leading 51-50, but stepped it up in the third quarter exploding for 31 points and took it up another notch in the last frame with 39 points winning 121-98 “I think the game changer was in the third quarter where we were able to put our tempo at another level. We ran more something we didn´t do as well in the first half. I had a phase where I made 8 points in a row. Everyone contributed”, stated Felix Kiehlneker. Anderson and Edoka combined for 47 points as Anderson led all scorers with 26 points. “I had never played with Lucai before, but what impressed me the most was his ability to shoot the ball so well. He shot over 40% from outside. His extreme confidence in shooting the ball was amazing considering he was a year younger than us”, remembered Felix Kiehlneker. Germany won the rebound battle again 40-24, shot 42% from outside and only coughed up the ball 9 times.

Pic credit: photosbyKellz +Joshua Hoffmann

The final was a close battle against Slovenia. Germany led 46-38 at the break, but in the second half Slovenia led briefly until Germany got the lead back and never looked back despite winning the second half only 41-37. “I think that we wanted it more than they did. It was our mentality to fight until the end no matter if we were up by 50 points against Bahrian or 1 point against Slovenia. We always wanted to play with more energy than the opponent”, warned Felix Kiehlneker. Germany was led by Edoka with 17 points and had 4 guys score in double figures and won the rebound battle again 49-36. ”Our biggest strength at AST was our tempo. Nobody could stop us. We always pushed the ball so well and were a very strong offensive team that played very well together”, stated Felix Kiehlneker. After the win, coach Alan Ibrahimagic was greeted with a massive shower in the dressing room. There was a team dinner and then most guys were on their way home except for Anderson and Dopfer who left Sunday to travel back to the states. The German who lists player Alessanco Vazquez Dos Santos of Brazil and Turkish forward Darius Karatasu as the players that impressed him most during the tournament had a solid tournament averaging 6/7per game “It was an Ok tournament for me. My 1 point game took me down a bit. But I feel like averaging 6/7 was solid. I definitely have things that I can work on this summer”, said Felix Kiehlneker. He played against 5 different nations and against the best youth players on earth which helped his game make another step. “I think that I adjusted to play against the physicality and also was able to play with tempo and hold my own against the top quality of players”, added Felix Kiehlneker. It was the first time that he played for head coach Alan Ibrahimagic and was able to learn so much in such a short time. “Alan is a really good coach. He gave me total trust. He always gave positive feedback how I could improve my game. I remember in the game against Bahrain when I missed my first 2 shots, he told me to up my energy as it was down. Another valuable piece of advice that he gave me was not to dribble extra in the zone, but go up right away for the dunk”, remembered Felix Kiehlneker. It will be interesting to see where Felix Kiehlneker´s journey will go in the next few years. However for now he is totally focused on helping Orange Academy win the Pro B title and help Ulm reach the NBL Top 4 in Berlin.