The weekend was supposed to start off with a bang for the Fraport Skyliners as the easyCredit BBL season was winding down with three games remaining as they were involved in a playoff dog fight with s.Oliver Wurzburg for the eighth and last place. Instead of beginning the weekend with a big victory in Berlin, the 2004 BBL champion stunk up the building so badly losing 106-69 that even NBA legend Jack Sikma who was watching his son Luke play must have thought did Frankfurt really deserve that? The embarrassing loss in Berlin brought back putrid memories from more than 10 years ago when coaches like Charles Barton and Murat Didin had to exit the then O2 arena with nasty 20 plus point slap in the face loses. The only positive effect to the lousy evening was that Wurzburg battled hard in Ludwigsburg, but ran out of gas in the second half losing 87-77. The Fraport Skyliners had one win more than the Bavarian team, but also knew that if they ended up late Tuesday afternoon tied in the standings that they would have an early summer vacation as Wurzburg would get that last ticket because they had the better head to head record. Wurzburg had an easy road game in Tuebingen while Frankfurt welcomed Science City Jena who had beat Giessen at home 48 hours earlier by 21 points and wanted to end their season in fine fashion as they were resting in 13th place. Even if this was a huge must win for the Fraport Skyliners, it is always a delight for the fans to be able to observe three BBL legends of Derrick Allen aged 37, Julius Jenkins aged 37 and Immanuel Mcelroy aged 38 for another time as these guys just don´t want to quit. When looking at the three Americans, you see unending experience and the three role models combined share 112 years of age. The three players brought combined 43 professional seasons into this season including 38 seasons in Germany displaying their amazing dedication to playing in Germany. The three BBL legends also aren´t short on titles as combined they share 13 professional titles and they share 11 BBL allstar appearances. The three also share 1,163 BBL games, 268 international club games and 66 Euroleague games experience. You could almost call them brothers as all three have a dedication to the game and their body that has allowed them to play so long into their thirties. Unfortunately for the fans only 1/3 of the three legends were active as Jenkins and Mcelroy didn´t make the trip due to injuries, but the Fraport Skyliners still struggled very badly as with a lot of breaks at the end, they didn´t witness a curse, but got around it surviving the guests 67-65.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Chicago Bull Paul Zipser in the Fraport arena after the 67-65 Fraport Skyliners win against Science City Jena
There was a short span midway through the fourth quarter where it seemed like the basketball God had had it with the Fraport Skyliners and had set a curse on them. First Quantez Robertson made a steal, turned around and collided into Mike Morrison forcing a turnover, Robertson then missed two free throws and Tai Webster missed an easy lay up. Frankfurt was doing all it could to lose, but somehow the basketball God turned it´s head the other way in the last minute as Frankfurt escaped Science City Jena with a 67-65 victory. Mr Canada Philip Scrubb was calm after the win, but knew they had to quickly forget this loss and get focused for Oldenburg as a win there on Tuesday and a Wurzburg loss against Bayreuth would send them to the playoffs. “We toughed out a win. They hit shots early and quickly had confidence. We didn´t respond well to that and were sloppy taking care of the ball. We´ll take the win. There was no curse, but sometimes when you go through adversary, you don´t always get the bounces, but we did get the stops when we needed to. I hope we get all the right bounces on Tuesday in Oldenburg”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Philip Scrubb.
Sometimes having certain benefits can be so vital in life like if your a Donald Trump son your set for life, if your the son of ex Boston Celtic legend Danny Ainge named Austin getting a job with the green machine without ever having to write an application is as normal as Larry Bird dropping a trey from downtown in the 80´s or living in Trier Germany which is close to Luxemburg gliding over the boarder to get cheaper gas is a must for folk in that area, but what about if you have that special, catchy and simply fancy name? Well for New York native Armani Cotton having that exciting name has opened a few doors in his life. Strap on an elegant suit from Neiman Marcus or if you want to save a penny at Century 21 in New York City and visit a dignified party in a posh pent house on Park avenue and roll through the door at the well built stature of 6´7 is half the rent, but present yourself as Armani Cotton and all of a sudden party goers put down their champagne glasses and give a lasting gaze at the tall man and suddenly you become very fashionable. Of course when you next mention that you’re a Yale graduate and suddenly you have a few model like women at almost eye sight giving you that interested look. The American who not only got a great education at a top Ivy League school also got the total basketball experience helping win the 2015 Ivy League Regular Season crown as a senior and goes through life having an exotic name and it doesn´t bother him one bit. “People are always surprised, but in a good way though. It’s one of those names that you have to live up to so I’m glad I play a dope sport and am from NYC. It allows me to fit into the name better. A nice personality can go a long way too. Armani Cotton suits me”, smiled the American. However this memorable name that has given Cotton so much joy as well as certain fringe benefits almost would have had a slight road block as his real name at birth was Hunter, but thanks to his mom, Armani was born. “. My father’s name is Hunter and my mom gave me the middle name Armani so I wouldn’t become Hunter Cotton IV. I’ve been called Armani since I was born. I honestly didn’t register that ‘Hunter’ was my legal first name until I got a passport at around 10 years old. That being said, switching it up from time to time is a nice option to have. I might start doing that”, joked Armani Cotton. However filling up a room with his name isn´t the only thing he is able to do, but he can do the same with his basketball skills that he crafted at Yale and has further polished in Belgium and has done in Germany this season in his second professional season with the Uni Baskets Paderborn.

Greg Logins


