It was the last game day in the easyCredit BBL for the Skyliners and all they had to play for was pride and to finish the season strong as their playoff hopes had been dashed weeks ago. The Skyliners had a walking wounded list as big as mount Everest and it wasn´t getting any smaller against their opponent ratiopharm Ulm. Eintracht Frankfurt Skyliners hero Ivan Crnjac who had led an amazing come back against Science City Jena with his barrage of three´s to reach the NBBL Top 4 in Berlin last weekend had had his mini break out in the loss to Chemnitz with 7 points. However a few more injuries in Chemnitz added to the massive injured list of Frankfurt as 9 guys were out of action.

The Skyliners walking wounded

Head coach Klaus Perwas had little choice but to insert his farm team players. 3 guys made their easyCredit BBL debuts with Czech Republic guard Lukas Smazak as well as Germans Leif Zentgraf and Maxi Peters while Alvin Oniya was in the line up after not having played in the BBL since the 2020-2021 season. At the end of 40 minutes, the Skyliners had been demolished on the boards and had coughed up the ball 19 times. 60% of the Skyliners roster in this game were Pro B players. “The Pro B players obviously needed some time to adjust to this BBL style of play. We allowed way to many open shots. We played a lot better in the second half being more comfortable and were more awake. We were more aggressive and were better on the switches”, stressed Skyliner Leif Zentgraf. Ratiopharm Ulm had a massive first half, but cooled down a bit offensively in the second half, but still controlled the game with ease. “We had a strong first half, but began slow in the second half, but finished strong. I thought we played well together and worked on habits for the playoffs. Guys were finding their rhythm before the playoffs”, stressed ratiopharm Ulm guard Mark Smith (193-G-1999, college: Kansas St.).

Christian Sengfelder at the FT line

The first quarter was an offensive show as both teams combined for 55 points, but the guests led 31-24 after 10 minutes. Ratiopharm Ulm led early 5-1 as ex Kansas State guard Mark Smith connected on a trey and ex Harvard (NCAA) American Chriatian Ledlum made a tip in dunk. The Skyliners found their rhythm as exceptional isolation player Isaiah Swope dropped a step back jumper and ex Creighton (NCAA) forward Ryan Hawkins scored on transition for the 6-5 lead. Swope would nail a trey and Ledlum a lay in as Ulm led 12-9. Then came the big moment of young athletic German Leif Zentgraf who compares his game to Franz Wagner made his BBL debut and scored his first BBL points with a lay in to trail 12-11. “I have to thank the coaching staff for their trust. I´m really grateful that my teammates found me. This was a great experience to be on the court and score my first points”, smiled Leif Zentgraf. Ratiopharm Ulm kept the slim lead the rest of the way only because Isaiah Swope continued his one man show showing his incredible ball handling and moves. He would score 6 more points on a 20 footer, acrobatic lay in and free throws having 12 points in the first quarter. The guests moved the ball well and fired well from outside as Danish player Tobias Jenson scored twice and 2017 NBBL champion Nelson Weideman also hit a trey while ex Telekom Baskets Bonn forward Christian Sengfelder added 4 points. “Frankfurt stayed with us, because Isaiah Swope made shots. He got in the paint and broke us down well and made plays”, stated Mark Smith. Ratiopharm Ulm shot 55% from the field and 54% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 1 turnover while the Skyliners shot 47% from the field and 36% from outside and had 10 rebounds and 2 turnovers.

Jacob Knauf dunk attempt

The turning point of the game occurred in the second quarter where Ratiopharm Ulm continued to be a scoring machine, but tightened up their defense allowing only 8 points and led dominantly 61-32. Ex St Johns (NCAA) guard Nahiem Alleyne began the second quarter with a jumper, but Ratiopharm Ulm then escaped out on a lethal 11-0 run to lead 42-26. In the run, the guests got everyone involved as ex Rice (NCAA) forward Mailik Osborne made a lay in, ex Munich forward Alec Anigbata hit a triple, Ledlum made a lay in while ex St Johns (NCAA) center Joel Soriano was real active on the glass making 2 alley-op dunks in a row with dimes from Jenson and Weidemann. Frankfurt was harmless on the defensive end having no impact on the closeouts. Ex Schwenningen forward Jacob Knauf stopped the Ulm run at the 7,05 minute mark with a dunk to trail 42-28. However that would be Frankfurt´s last field goal of the first half. They would connect on 4 more free throws from Alleyne and Swope, but Ulm stopped Frankfurt 12 times as they couldn´t muster any offense. Swope didn´t have the hot hand like in the first quarter as he missed 3 shots. Ratiopharm Ulm would produce 19 more points to Frankfurt´s 4 free throw points as their offense looked like an easy stroll in the park while the Skyliners had to work extra hard for good looks which they didn´t get often. Smith continued to be aggressive scoring 5 points while Jenson added another trey and Osborn an alley-op dunk. Sengfelder also added 3 points and ex Braunschweig guard Thomas Klepeisz also nailed a trey for the very comfortable half time lead. “We moved the ball well and stuck to our defensive principles. We capitalized off their mistakes and let our defense be our offense”, commented Mark Smith. Ratiopharm Ulm shot 65% from the field and 56% from the three point line and had 21 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 34% from the field and 25% from the three point line and had 15 rebounds and 7 turnovers.

Isaiah Swope at the FT line

The Skyliners stepped up their game in the third quarter losing it only 19-16, but couldn´t make any dent into Ulm´s gigantic lead trailing 80-48 after 3 quarters. Frankfurt stopped Ratiopharm Ulm on it´s first 2 possessions, but they then found their groove as Soriano and Ledlum made a lay in and a jumper. Frankfurt punched back with Alleyne free throws and a Hawkins trey to trail 65-37. Both teams were scoring at ease as the Skyliners simply couldn´t get over the hump. Weidemann twice scored lay in´s with his left hand as the Frankfurt zone was like a comfort zone for Ulm as their was no aggression anywhere to be seen from the Skyliners defense. Smith also displayed his fierce isolation skills as he dropped a nasty trey that looked so ruthless as the Skyliners trailed 72-40 and their trek up the mountain looked endless. Here and there the Skyliners showed traces of solid execution as Swope displayed a nifty step back jumper for 2 points while Alvin Onyia got to the free throw line adding 3 points. Ulm always found ways to get inside and get easy points as Jenson made a dunk and Sengfelder made a lay in off the lob pass from Klepeisz and then the German made a dunk at the buzzer closing out the third quarter. “We began slow and had too many turnovers that quarter. But that all changed when the second unit came. They gave extra energy and got easy baskets”, said Mark Smith. “We wanted to come back and were more aggressive and awake. We did a good job producing open looks”, stated Leif Zentgraf. Ratiopharm Ulm shot 58% from the field and 48% from the parking lot and had 29 rebounds and 7 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 36% from the field and 27% from the parking lot and had 23 rebounds and 13 turnovers.

Nelson Weidemann with the left hand lay in

Ratiopharm had no let up´s in the fourth quarter as they closed out the game strong never allowing the Skyliners any chance of a real comeback. Ratiopharm Ulm came out on fire in the last quarter not allowing any punch backs from the Skyliners as they went on a lethal 12-2 run to extend their lead to 92-50. In the run it was the 1-2 punch of Tobias Jenson and Anigbata that supplied all the early scoring punch. Jenson showed his 3 level scoring qualities as he made a lay in, dunk and trey while Anigbata made a tip in and trey. The Skyliners then finally punched back with a 9-2 run to trail 94-59. Lukas Smazak who made his BBL debut hit 2 three´s in a row from the left wing. His big strength is his shooting and he showed why. “I was a bit nervous at the start when I came in. But then after 2 ups and downs, it was all cool. I really wanted to score some points. I was so happy that I hit 2 three´s”, smiled Lukas Smazak. Skyliner Nahiem Alleyne closed out the game strong with 8 points including 2 three´s to trail Ulm 99-64. Frankfurt had a few turnovers at the end while Ratiopharm Ulm closed out the game with 4-0 run as Jenson and Smith made lay in´s as both finished with 20 points a piece. “We closed out the game well. We played well against their zone and shot the ball better”, stated Mark Smith. “We hit the three ball better and communicated better on defense”, added Leif Zentgraf. Ratiopharm Ulm was led by Mark Smith and Tobias Jenson with 20 points a piece. Christian Sengfelder and Chirs Ledlum also added 11 points a piece while the Skyliners were led by Isaiah Swope with 17 points while Nahiem Alleyne had 14 points. Ratiopharm Ulm shot 57% from the field and 44% from outside and had 42 rebounds and 12 turnovers while the Skyliners shot 38% from the field and 32% from outside and had 26 rebounds and 19 turnovers.