The Skyliners Juniors had a long wait to finally play their first home game. The Pro B season began September 26th and now on October 15th, the Skyliners Juniors battled 2-1 team Dragons Rhondorf. Frankfurt returned home and were searching for their first win of the season. 3 days ago they had lost a tough game on the road in overtime against top Pro B team Fellbach Flashers. The Dragons Rhondorf were also coming off a tough home loss to BG Hessing Leitershofen. On a rare Wednesday night game, It looked like after 30 minutes that the Dragons Rhondorf would walk home with the easy win, but they were shocked in the fourth quarter allowing a brutal 14-1 run which allowed Frankfurt to tie the game and then take the lead and win 73-70. “I thought that we had a pretty solid first half. We just didn´t have that extra on the rebounds. We had good looks, but the shots just weren´t falling. We shot too many three´s and not enough two pointers. In the second half, we stepped up our defense and got that extra push with our transition game. We showed that special fighting mentality again what we showed in Fellbach. Only this time we were rewarded with a win”, smiled Maximilian Peters (205-F-2007). The win was also the Pro B break out game of young 19 year old German Maximilian Peters who had 21 points and hit clutch shots inside and out all throughout the game. “I´m relieved how I played. I played Ok in Weimar, but didn´t play well in Fellbach. This game did a lot for my confidence. I know now that I can play in the Pro B”, warned Maximilian Peters. The Dragons Rhondorf gave a way a win in 2024 when Trevian Bell hit a buzzer beater, but this time they just had a real lousy fourth quarter where they couldn´t hit the ocean. “We played well for 3 quarters where we showed that we could dominate. That was a good preparation for Fellbach. We moved the ball really well and played together as a team. They were able to really step up their energy in the fourth quarter and we ran out of gas”, stressed Dragon Rhondorf center Daniel Mayr.
Sahmi Willoughby at the FT line
The Skyliners Juniors really came into the game lacking some key players as Jamie Edoka was in London for a Eurocup game while Ivan Crnjac was sitting out, after sustaining an injury in Fellbach while Rhondorf was without sniper Josh Petteno. The Skyliners Juniors didn´t waste anytime jumping all over the Dragons Rhondorf scooting out on a 13-3 lead. In the run it was Maximilian Peters who showed that he was on his way to a career night adding 7 points with a trey, lay in and dunk taking over instant responsibility. Germans Leif Zentgraf added 3 points and ex Kronberg center Florian Dietrich added a lay in. Frankfurt was playing with a high intensity at both ends and playing aggressive on ball defense which Rhondorf couldn´t match. But basketball is always a game of runs and Rhondorf came out calm after the time out and punched back with a swift 9-2 run to trail 15-12. In the run the Dragons Rhondorf looked for mis matches and also banged the ball inside whenever possible feeding giant Daniel Mayr who scored twice. Mayr was out all last season and was coming back slowly with less minutes, but being raised every game. He had a solid 10/9 game in 19 minutes. German big man Benjamin Sadikovic also scored on transition and ex Essen guard Mychael Paulo contributed a trey. It was an even game now, but Frankfurt held the slight edge after 10 minutes leading 19-16. 2026 AST winner Dusan Ilic added a lay in as did ex Koblenz center Moses Poelking and Czech Republic national player Lukas Smazak. “We came in with very good energy. I think that we shocked them a bit. We allowed them to come back with giving up to easy baskets inside and gaining some turnovers”, stated Maximilian Peters. The Skyliners Juniors shot 32% from the field and 20% from outside and had 11 rebounds and 3 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 55% from the field and 33% from outside and had 9 rebounds and 8 turnovers.
Dusan Nikolic on transition
In the second quarter the Dragons Rhondorf took control of the game outscoring Frankfurt 25-12 and leading comfortably 41-31 at the break. The Dragons Rhondorf took a little of that first quarter ending momentum into the second quarter and exploded for a lethal 21-4 run to take the 35-24 advantage. In the run, the Dragons Rhondorf played smart basketball combining aggressive play with finding the smart offensive solutions and countered with pretty inside out basketball. Paulo continued to have the hot hand dropping 2 three´s while Ohio native and ex Marietta (NCAA3) great Sahmi Willoughby was a beast on the glass and added 7 points with a trey and two lay in´s while Kenan Reinhart also scored inside as did Daniel Mayr. Frankfurt found good offensive solutions, but shots just weren´t falling. They continued to crash the boards with force and got extra possessions, but weren´t rewarded. Smazak added a trey and Dusan Nikolic a lay in, but there was no let down by the Dragons Rhondorf as they always had an answer prepared. Young German Carlo Schmid added a trey and Kenan Reinhart had the clock in view and added a lay in at the buzzer. “They hit their shots well and were more physical than us. We also had too many fouls. We had some good swings, but overall were unlucky with out execution”, added Maximilian Peters. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 47% from the field and 29% from the three point line and had 27 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the Skyliners Juniors shot 28% from the field and 15% from the three point line and had 22 rebounds and 5 turnovers.
Carlo Schmid from outside
In the third quarter The Dragons Rhondorf did an exceptional job managing the lead leading by as much as 16 points and never trailing by less than 8 points and led 61-48 after 30 minutes. In the first few minutes, the Dragons Rhondorf stayed away from the three pointer and just attacked the paint area having fortune with their snake dribbling that led to a floater by Willoughby and lay in by Reinhart while not forgetting to get Mayr involved heaving up two lobs for easy lay in´s and the 49-37 lead. Frankfurt countered with Peters and Dietrich lay in´s, but couldn´t make any damage or ground. Dusan Nikolic then gave Frankfurt some energy blocking Dusan Ilic which led to a Poelking lay in. Frankfurt then exhibited their most beautiful ball movement of the night seemingly feeling like 20 passes as Poelking made the extra pass for the easy lay in by Peters as the Dragons only led 49-41. But as rapidly as Frankfurt was trying to come back, the Dragons Rhondorf remained dangerous and exploded with another lethal run of 12-1 to lead 61-43. In the run, the Dragons got 4 points from Willoughby who was a one man wrecking crew inside while Paulo scored on the drive and Sadikovic made a lay in getting the incredible Doncic like pass from Reinhart. “I really enjoy watching Kenan. He has made big steps since last season in all facets of his game. I think that Jorge Mejias gave him good passing tips”, smiled Daniel Mayr. Frankfurt stayed sharp and closed out the third quarter with a 4-0 run to stay in striking range as Poelking made a dunk and Smazak a trey to trail by 13 points. “We played our drop defense, but they did a good job finding offensive solutions with their snake dribbling”, added Maximilian Peters. “We defended well and had good ball movement, but gave up too many offensive rebounds”, said Daniel Mayr. The Dragons Rhondorf shot 47% from the field and 23% from the parking lot and had 37 rebounds and 12 turnovers while the Skyliners Juniors shot 32% from the field and 22” from the parking lot and had 31 rebounds and 8 turnovers.
Lukas Smazak from the parking lot
The Dragons Rhondorf had the double digit lead going into the fourth quarter and all they had to do was play a solid quarter, but instead watched as they lost control of the game allowing a brutal 14-1 run to suddenly dead lock the game at 62-62. In the run the Skyliners Juniors just went possessions by possession and got superb support from many heads as they were super aggressive and attacked the rim getting lay in´s from Smazak, ex Neustadt forward Leif Zentgraf, Dietrich, Peters, Oniya and a trey from Peters who was a force all over the court. Rhondorf had lost their intensity on the defensive end and after giving up tough shots in the first 30 minutes now had gone too allowing easy lay in´s. The Frankfurt run continued with a Moses Poelking baby hook shot which gave Frankfurt the 64-62 advantage and the BCM was rocking. “We had more energy and we got help from the fans. They had problems with the drop defense and we stunted a lot and made it hard for their guards”, added Maximilian Peters. Ilic and David Bonning got to the free throw line, but both missed 2 free throws while Frankfurt answered with Smazak and Peters free throws and the 68-64 lead with 1,20 to play. After a stop, Frankfurt seemed to put the lid on the game with a thunderous Nikolic dunk on transition and 70-64 lead with 30 seconds to play. But that wasn´t the game. Within 21 seconds, the Dragons Rhondorf shocked Frankfurt with a Willoughby lay in which was followed by a Paulo steal and trey from the corner and suddenly Frankfurt led only 70-69 with 9 seconds remaining. Rhondorf needed a quick steal and if that didn´t happen had to foul fast. They gambled with a press, but had no one watching Leif Zentgraf who escaped for the easy lay up on transition as Peters made the quick touch down pass for the 72-69 lead with 7 seconds to play. Ilic and Leif Zentgraf added one free throw a piece ending the game. “We had a good press break. We mad eth right passes to beat the press”, said Maximilian Peters. “We played risky at the end. We didn´t have any security on Leif Zentgraf. These things can happen. It´s part of the game”, stated Daniel Mayr. The Skyliners Juniors were led by Maximilian Peters with 21 points while Lukas Smazak added 12 points and Florian Dietrich 11 points while the Dragons Rhondorf were led by Mychael Paulo with 16 points while Sahmi Willoughby added 15 points. The Skyliners Juniors shot 39% from the field and 23% from outside and had 42 rebounds and 11 turnovers while the Dragons Rhondorf shot 35% from the field and 17% from outside and had 56 rebounds and 19 turnovers.
