BBL

Braydon Hobbs Plays Game Changer Saving FC Bayern Munich From 18 Points Down Defeating The Fraport Skyliners 87-83

So often in the past years when the playoffs were drawing nearer, the Fraport Skyliners

Basketball BL / FRAPORT SKYLINERS - FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN BASKETBALL WEISSENFELS

BBL Topscorer Philip Scrubb made 5 of 8 three pointers and finished the game with 23 points

would go on a few days working vacation in order to do some last minute team building for the crunch-time period of the season. This season the 2016 Fiba Europe Cup winner went to the tourist infested Mallorca to digest their current two game losing streak that left them shaking their heads after the unexplainable and unacceptable loss to arch rival Giessen 46ers and their crunch-time fall out in Bayreuth. The Fraport Skyliners entered the top game of the season against FC Bayern Munich resting in seventh place and if the playoffs started tomorrow would have been in, but had teams like Bamberg, ratiopharm Ulm, Wurzburg and Giessen breathing heavily down their backs ready to attack as the club has a very difficult rest program. FC Bayern Munich didn´t enter the Fraport arena playing their best basketball either having won two of their last four games and playing a very suspect defense giving up 89 points on average in the last two wins. Their offense has been red hot as they scored 100 points or more in the last three games. FC Bayern Munich came to Frankfurt having a 12-5 overall record and positive 5-3 record in the Fraport arena. The Fraport Skyliners had had some very stellar performances against FC Bayern Munich in their living room in the past and were looking for their fourth win at home and another step toward a playoff spot, but instead saw an 18 point lead dwindle down in the fourth quarter as American guard Braydon Hobbs came from the bench and saved his team with the right kind of playmaking and just organizing the team the right way and had an incredible mix of big shots and handing out dimes leading FC Bayern Munich to an incredible 87-83 victory. For three quarters, it was the Fraport Skyliners playing energized basketball and shooting at a high rate, but were at their limit while FC Bayern Munich played uninspired and at times helpless as if it was a pre season game and were somewhere at 40% of their abilities. That all changed in the fourth quarter as the 2018 easyCredit BBL cup champion made a furious comeback to put another dagger in the playoff hopes of Frankfurt. After the victory, ex NBA player Jared Cunningham who has been playing up and down as of late and came into the game shooting 3/23 from the parking lot in his last nine games and finished with only 4 points was thankful the team could pull out the win. “Frankfurt came out very aggressive and we couldn´t get stops which resulted in them taking the lead. We came out harder in the second half started to make big shots and big plays which helped us get the win”, stressed FC Bayern Munich guard Jared Cunningham. Mr Canada Philip Scrubb had made not only huge shots all game long, but some amazing Steph Curry type shots from seemingly somewhere from the other side of Frankfurt, but when it counted most at the end, he was rejected by Reggie Redding ending the game. After the victory, Scrubb was as always prepared to digest another tough loss in his own living room. “We played well for 35 minutes. We were good for three quarters, but weren´t together in the fourth quarter and lost control. I know this was a tough game to lose, but this game showed that we can play with the best teams in the league. We will take some confidence from this game into the next one”, warned Philip Scrubb.

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Assem Marei (medi Bayreuth) There Are A Couple Of Aspects Of My Game That I Need To Develop To Have A Legitimate NBA Chance

Assem Marei is a 25 year old 206cm forward from Cairo, Egypt playing his third professional season and second with medi Bayreuth. Currently he is averaging 12,6ppg, 6,7rpg and 1,5apg in the easyCredit BBL and 11,6ppg and 5,6rpg in the Basketball Champions League. Last season for medi Bayreuth he played 36 games averaging 11.9ppg, Reb-2(7.2rpg), 1.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 54.9%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 62.8%. In 2015-2016 he played his rookie season for BC Siauliai (Lithuania-LKL) playing 37 games averaging 12.1ppg, Reb-2(7.5rpg), 1.2apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 54.4%, FT: 53.6%; In the FIBA Europe Cup he played 6 games averaging 12.5ppg, 10.8rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 62.7%, FT: 64.7%; and in the Baltic League, he played 8 games averaging 12.3ppg, 7.6rpg, 1.0apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-5(1.1bpg), FGP: 58.3%, FT: 68.3%. He started his career with Al Zamalek (Superleague) and then played at Minn.St.-Mankato (NCAA2) from 2012-2015 olaying 85 games and as a senior played 20 games averaging 19.3ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.3apg, 1.8bpg, FGP: 62.6%, FT: 59.2%. He spoke to German Hoops after the Basketball Champions League loss to the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg and before the BBL clash against the Fraport Skyliners.

Assem, thanks for talking to German Hoops. medi Bayreuth were denied a trip to the Basketball Champions League Final 4. How tough was this loss? You started out well in the first quarter, but from the second quarter until the end, you had to play catch up basketball. What was key for Ludwigsburg getting to the Final 4?

Their physicality and their aggressiveness played a huge part in their win. They are a good team with a deep roster, and they were in the same position last year with a one point deficit. It was a really tough loss but we are very proud of what we have done this year in the champions league.

Despite this loss, do you feel like this will motivate the team not to sink their heads and finish the season strong?

Yes of course, we need to come out with energy and concentrate on BBL games.

How does it feel being the first Egyptian player in the EasyCredit BBL? What have been your best experiences in Germany having this unique title?

I don’t really thing about it that way, but I’m grateful for this experience and I hope it will open doors for other Egyptians and portray my country in a good way. It was nice to see how much support I actually did receive from the fans, some of them would also show up to our games with an Egyptian flag and that meant a lot.

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Kameron Taylor (s.Oliver Wurzburg) I Want To Focus On Defense In The BBL Which I Feel Will Separate Me

Kameron Taylor is a 23 year old 198cm guard from Hyattsville, Maryland that recently finished his second professional season and first with Pro B team Dragons Rhondorf and tore up the Pro B averaging 23,4ppg, 7,9rpg and 5,6apg, and 2,6spg. Last season as a rookie he played with Team Ehingen Urspring (Germany-ProA) playing 29 games averaging 10.8ppg, 3.9rpg, 2.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 43.9%, FT: 80.2%. He started his basketball career at DeMatha Catholic and in 2012-2013 started his career at Seton Hill (NCAA2) and as a freshman played 28 games averaging 7.8ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.0apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 40.6%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 70.0%. In his second season at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 27 games averaging 12.6ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.6apg, 2.0spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 43.5%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 77.9%. In his junior season at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 16 games averaging 13.1ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.1apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 39.6%, FT: 70.6%. In his senior year at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 27 games averaging 20.8ppg, 8.7rpg, 4.1apg, 2.2spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 49.6%, 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 76.8%. He spoke to German Hoops after he gave his EasyCredit BBL debut in Berlin with s.Oliver Wurzburg scoring 16 points in a 80-76 loss.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Kameron Taylor after his buzzer beater against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors

Kam thanks for talking to German Hoops. Your 2017-2018 dream continues as you have made the jump from the Pro B to the EasyCredit BBL. How would you describe this dream at the moment?

I don’t consider it a dream but a goal I set for myself to accomplish by the end of my Pro B season. And now I’m setting more goals as I accomplish them.

You told me at the Dragons Rhondorf season ending party that you weren´t sure about how you would end your season. You had had a try out with the s.Oliver Wurzburg. Did you know at that time that you would be ending the season with them?

I didn’t know at the time because they were down 2 key Big guys and were highly considering picking up another Big Man.

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Tai Webster Sparks The Fraport Skyliners Past The Mitteldeutscher BC 83-67

After the embarrassing and unacceptable 83-59 loss in Giessen shortly before Christmas, one would have expected a total 180 degrees turnaround in the return game and the Fraport Skyliners showcasing ecstatic faces after the win, but instead players moped back into the dressing room after the 86-70 loss and sweep by the Giessen 46ers with their heads hanging and fearing to have to confront head coach Gordon Herbert in the dressing room with his post game rant. Four year Skyliner veteran and Florida native Mike Morrison was limping to the dressing room like a destroyed World War 2 battle ship and the usual taciturn Philip Scrubb seemed even more quiet just with the dejected expression on his face. Gordon Herbert left right after the press conference skipping the normal VIP room dinner and one could only have hoped that he had calmed down by Easter Sunday. The only good news was that despite the poor sweep to the Giessen 46ers, the Fraport Skyliners were still in seventh place, but had teams like ratiopharm Ulm and Giessen close on their heels with only one win less for the playoff hunt. However with so many tough games remaining against playoff teams, the 2004 BBL champion had to start winning games against lesser teams in order to have some leverage if they lose some games to the other top teams down the stretch. The Fraport Skyliners had one of those must win situations against 2004 Fiba Europe cup winner Mitteldeutscher BC who they had barely survived winning a nail bitter 96-93 in their first meeting as new Skyliner Jordan Sibert put a scare into his new team with 23 points while Philip Scrubb and Jonas Wolfarth-Bottermann carried the Fraport Skyliners with 47 points combined.

Basketball BL, FRAPORT SKYLINERS - MBC M ITTELDEUTSCHER BASKETBALL CLUB WEISSENFELS

Tai Webster made 11 of 18 shots and finished the game with 26 points.

The contest also featured the first meeting between Jordan Sibert and his ex team who had rudely disposed of him after bringing back last season´s hero Andrew Warren. The Mitteldeutscher BC entered the game in no man´s land with 8 wins, but wanted to close out the season strong, while Jordan Sibert who had put up strong stats with the Mittledeutscher BC was searching for some revenge. Sibert didn´t gain revenge with his play in limited minutes, but had the last laugh as the Fraport Skyliners disposed of the Mitteldeutscher BC 83-67 keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Sibert had a smile on his face, but one could sense that he was disappointed he couldn´t contribute more on the court. “The win was important. It was like a practice again for me seeing the guys. It was good to see the guys healthy and playing. There are no hard feelings. I´m happy that we stuck to the game plan, executed on offense and were aggressive on defense”, stressed ex Dayton(NCAA) guard Jordan Sibert.

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Kruize Pinkins (Mitteldeutscher BC) I Think Being A Knock Down Shooter Would Really Open Up My Game A Lot More

Kruize Pinkins is a 25 year old 201cm forward from Marianna, Florida that is playing his third professional season and first with the Mitteldeutscher BC. He played with the Hebeisen White Wings in his first two professional seasons. In his second season with Hanau he averaged 17,9ppg, 9,5rpg and 2,5apg. He started his basketball career at Chipola (JUCO). He then played at USF (NCAA) from 2013-2015 and as a senior played 32 games averaging 13.9ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 52.1%, 3PT: 39.0%, FT: 65.0%. As a rookie last season with the Hebeisen White Wings he played 29 games averaging 13.1ppg, Reb-3(9.1rpg), 1.1apg, FGP: 49.8%, 3PT: 20.8%, FT: 68.9%. He spoke to German Hoops before the game against the Fraport Skyliners on Easter Monday.

Kruize, thanks for talking to German Hoops. This is your third season in Germany and our seventh interview. Your third professional season is coming to an end. Has time flown by since your first professional game against Vechta where you netted 12 points and hauled down 12 boards After two very strong seasons in the Pro A with Hanau, you made the jump to 2004 Fiba Europe Cup champion Mitteldeutscher BC. How much of a blessing has it been for you being able to play in one of Europe´s top 5 leagues?

It´s a big blessing and I never take it for granted. It´s a very tough league that is making me a better player.

The Mitteldeutscher might only have won 8 games to this point, but any season where it remains in the BBL is a big success. How have you experienced your first season in the BBL? What have been the team highs and lows so far?

It´s been a great experience for me. I have learned a lot of things throughout the course of this season. The hardest thing I had to deal with was being out two weeks with an injury but we have a great medical staff here which helped me return quickly

The club lost 4-5 very close games The club allows 88 points per game. Where do you feel the team would be today if it had been able to play more consistent defense? What have been the main flaws on the defensive end this season?

It was not about defense in most of those close loses. Sometimes the ball just doesn’t drop your way and every possession matters. Most of those teams were very experienced. Our guys go out and play their hearts out on defense every night. Every team has a defensive drop here and there, it´s a part of basketball.

Marcus Hatten doesn´t play your position, but belongs to the players with the most professional experience in the BBL. He is a guy that has seen it all. Have you become an overall smarter player on the court just by seeing his play and stories about his basketball life?

Yeah, Marcus has taught me a lot. It´s made me a better player just by getting knowledge from him. So yes I take as much knowledge about the game from him as I can!

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Thomas Walkup (MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg) Has To Take Care Of Business In Germany Before The NBA Comes Calling

It was an extremely fierce back and forth battle between the Fraport Skyliners and the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg this season in Frankfurt up to halftime, but in the third quarter, Frankfurt started to pull away leading 72-63 and it looked like the game flow and result would go as usual at home for the 2004 BBL champion with a win, but there was a reddish/blond player who had other ideas on the court. He had a trim and in control beard that wasn´t as out of control as at SF Austin two years ago and unruly like a Sergio Rodriguez. The player that did the damage and heroics for the MHP Riesen was American Thomas Walkup who had grown an outrageous big beard in his senior season at SF Austin during the NCAA run and still smiles today when he is reminded about it. “I don´t miss anything about it, but it was awesome while I had it. It was my trademark then even it was more of a joke. It was fun while it lasted, but that had it´s time in college”, added Thomas Walkup. The American had had some huge games in the BBL this season against Alba Berlin and Science City Jena with 22 points apiece, but what he performed in Frankfurt was his best game as a professional in Germany. He led his team on a 15-1 run to get back into the game and closed out the game in Jordan like or Curry like fashion putting seemingly his own special like patent on the word scoring in bunches and scoring his team´s last five baskets in a row and making his name not so quickly forgotten in the Fraport arena. He finished with an amazing 27 points on the night the most he has had as a player in Europe, but also displayed his usual versatile game and filled up the stat sheet with eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. He probably served up Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert added mind games that evening wondering why he may not have had him on the radar like a John Patrick may have last summer. The amazing thing with Walkup´s points at the end, was that they weren´t mostly open shots, but difficult shots and plays where he had to show his wonderful one on one and scoring in traffic abilities. His scoring was top, he helped out where it hurts most on the boards, made big defensive plays and yes put a little breath of Larry Bird into the arena with his precise and beautiful passing. On one play he had the ball on the sideline and without flinching quickly gunned the ball inside to an open David Mccray for the easy lay up before the Frankfurt defense could even react. “That was a good pass. We had a mix up on defense. He had the sense to figure out before he got the ball to make the pass when he got it”, stressed Philip Scrubb who is a fine passer himself. That pass also proved that he has a very good basketball IQ and sense where his teammates are. The 88-80 win against Frankfurt was just one of so many games this season where the American has shown his brilliant basketball abilities and the guy is on a mission. Even if he was careful in his choice of words, Walkup is a major competitor and knows exactly where his basketball future is going. ““The basketball world is so connected that you can play anywhere in Europe and still be on a NBA team´s radar. I am playing good ball now after not playing as well last season. I will just continue to keep working and see where it takes me”, warned Thomas Walkup. “We have played a lot of games this season and Tom has been a scoring machine in a lot of them. Against Frankfurt he carried the team through the fourth quarter on offense. He showed how big of an impact he can make on a game”, stressed teammate and roommate at road games Adam Waleskowski. Walkup pretty much knows where he wants to go, but first he has to take care of business with the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg before the NBA comes calling.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Thomas Walkup after the 88-81 MHP Riesen win where he dropped 27 points

Thomas Walkup is a 25 year old 193cm shooting guard/small forward that was born in Pasadena, Texas. He played his high school ball at Deer Park and already at a young age had to battle injuries as he suffered two ACL injuries, but he got past these hardships with his dedication and hard work. In his senior year, he averaged 25,9ppg and 8,9rpg. Despite these stellar stats, it seemed like there wasn´t so much interest from division one schools, but he always wanted to play in the NCAA tournament so going to the division 2 was never an option for him. He also didn´t seem to be as confident in his game coming out of high school, but his experience at SF Austin would not only change his mentality, but his game. As a freshman he was still learning the ropes at the NCAA level and wasn´t much of a factor averaging only 4.4ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.3apg. However from his sophomore season until the end, he would make big strides in his game being able to improve his scoring, rebounding, assists and steal percentages each season. One could also see his development and consistency in his last three seasons as he not only scored in double figures 80 times in 131 games, but he won the Southland conference title from 2014-2016 and also garnered the MVP award three times.

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The Giessen 46ers Produce the Frankfurt Massacre winning 86-70

After losing a tight 95-92 encounter a few weeks ago on the road against 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goetiingen, 2016 Fiba Europe Cup winner Fraport Skyliners learned their lesson after a win at home against Gotha going on the road to Bonn and not getting lost in crunch-time again like in Goettingen, but were sparked by a strong 29 point third quarter and had the nerves at the end to pull out the tight 79-75 victory against the Telekom Baskets Bonn. But the question was did the Fraport Skyliners learn their lesson from their embarrassing loss in Giessen shortly before Christmas 2017. In that game the Fraport Skyliners traveled to Giessen in body, but not mind losing 83-59 which for many belonged to the worst losses in the last years. The Fraport Skyliners came into the game having got off on the wrong side of the bed while Giessen played with a lot of heart and at a high intensity which Frankfurt couldn´t match all game long. Giessen played good team basketball outshooting Frankfurt and pounding them on the boards 43-29 and despite getting 17 points from ex FC Bayern Munich center John Bryant, it was the overpowering shooting duo of Canadian Jahenns Manigat and Mauricio Marin who combined for 34 points and nailed combined nine of the teams 10 three´s on the night. Even if the game was more than three months ago, one could be sure that Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert still remembered that dreadful loss well and made the needed adjustment for the always entertaining Hessen derby. The Fraport Skyliners entered the game having won three of their last four games while the Giessen 46ers came into the contest having lost three of their last four, but had beat the Walter Tigers Tuebingen 106-83 and were still dreaming of the playoffs as they were in 11^th place, but needed a win on the road in Frankfurt to keep it alive. Basketball BL, FRAPORT SKYLINERS - GIESSEN 46ers / It was an entertaining and tight game up to the break, but in the third quarter the Giessen 46ers played as if they had been totally reborn and the Fraport Skyliners played like they were from Mars giving up a 17-0 run and trailed by 28 points, which led to a 86-60 loss and a date with head coach Gordon Herbert at 7.30 Friday morning for a video session as a punishment.

The Giessen 46ers didn´t only sweep the season series, but did it in amazing fashion outscoring Frankfurt 169-119. After the shocking Frankfurt loss, Gordon Herbert had his team in the dressing room for 15 minutes and after a few players emerged with Quantez Robertson and Shawn Huff wholooked small as their own children after the Herbert post game speech and big Man German Jonas Wolfarth-Botterman tried to convey to the press what had gone wrong. “Coach and us were frustrated after this loss. We never found to our game and it is difficult to say why. We had a tough time reacting to their shooting. We couldn´t play our plays and didn´t play together. We didn´t get many outside opportunities and didn´t get rebounds”, added ex Alba Berlin center Jonas Wolfarth-Bottermann.

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James Robinson (medi Bayreuth) If We Take Care Of The Ball And Make Simple Plays Then We Feel Like We Can Break Down The Ludwigsburg Press

James Robinson is a 24 year old 190cm guard from Mitchellville, Maryland that is playing his second professional season and first with medi Bayreuth (Germany-BBL) averaging 8,6ppg, 2,2rpg and 3,8apg. Last season as a rookie he played with BC Igokea Aleksandrovac (Bosnia-Division I) helping them win the cup playing 16 games averaging 15.1ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 61.1%, 3PT-2(48.8%), FT: 75.8%; He also played in the Adriatic League playing 24 games averaging 12.8ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 48.6%, 3PT: 32.9%, FT: 86.3%. Before turning professional he played at Pittsburgh (NCAA) form 2012-2016 playing a total of 137 games and as a senior played 33 games averaging 10.2ppg, 3.2rpg, 5.0apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 40.4%, 3PT: 32.5%, FT: 75.8%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Basketball Champions League game against the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing medi Bayreuth PG James Robinson after scoring 9 points in a 72-68 loss against the Fraport Skyliners in Frankfurt

James congrats on a fine season with medi Bayreuth. We are coming up to the stretch run of the season. Medi Bayreuth is in the Basketball Champions League quarterfinals and in fourth place in the EasyCredit BBL standings. How good is basketball life for you at the moment?

I’m loving playing basketball here in Bayreuth. The fan support has been great and our team is continuing to get better and better each day as we approach the end of the regular season.

A big basketball battle starts in the Basketball Champions League tonight with medi Bayreuth against the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. How excited are you for this and how confident are you that you can advance past this very tough team?

I’m really excited to be competing with my teammates as one of the 8 teams remaining in the BCL. I think it shows how strong the basketball is in the BBL to have two of its teams represented this late in such a big time international event. The games will be hard fought and filled with a lot of excitement, but if we play how well we know we can, we will advance.

Medi Bayreuth has to have a lot of revenge after the embarrassing 78-47 loss. What memories do you have from that nasty loss?

It was a bad game from us on that night, we have learned from it and gotten better since.

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The VFL SparkassenStars Bochum Live Another Day Forcing A Game Three With 78-70 Win Over The Fraport Skyliners Juniors

Sometimes miracles do happen in sports as over the years there have been some amazing feats that nobody would have ever dreamed of like the 1980 USA Ich Hockey Gold, Boris Becker´s 1985 Wimbeldon win at age 17 or even Germany´s Ice Hockey team 2018 Olympic silver medal in Korea, but mostly one sees surprises that don´t necessarily classify as a miracle especially in the German Pro B. This season there had been some big time games that teams won that nobody would have expected like Giessen winning at Rhondorf with only seven players or last weekend as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors snuck into Bochum with only a seven man rotation and two NBBL(U-19 league) players and came away with an amazing, but also somewhat surprising 87-83 win in OT against the much deeper VFL SparkassenStars Bochum. The favorite Bochum had a 12 man rotation and filled with nonstop talent and experience with imports like Ryon Howard, Jarvis Davis and Davon Roberts as well as many German role players, but totally underestimated the Frankfurt team and now had to win a do or die game on the road. Sometimes it doesn´t matter who you have, but if the attitude and effort isn´t there, then a team like the Fraport Skyliners Juniors who had nothing to lose can make the seemingly impossible become a reality. A negative aspect to game two against Frankfurt for Bochum was that now the home team had the opportunity to have many of their BBL license players on board, because the BBL team didn´t play until Sunday. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were a lot deeper than in game one against Bochum and wanted to slam the door on them and end their season with a sweep, but the opponent lived another day as they forced another do or die game for them winning in Frankfurt 78-70. The VFL SparkassenStars Bochum did a great job to overcome a big deficit in the second quarter and overpower the Fraport Skyliners Juniors in the second half with solid team basketball and good defense. After the win ex EWE Baskets guard Marco Buljevic had a huge simile on his face and content with the huge road win as competing in the Pro B is still a big thrill for him. “We had many highs and lows in this game, but our will was there to win after a bad second quarter. We were motivated to win as we were up 8 points with 1,30 to go in game one and playing against a team seemingly half our age. We reduced our turnovers tonight, played good defense and played with heart. I´m looking forward to game three. We saw two road wins and there is still a lot of fire in both teams”, warned Marco Buljevic. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors departed the floor after the buzzer faster than one could blink and eye, but soon players returned to stretch and top Frankfurt scorer Konstantin Schubert reflected on the loss. “We had a good lead in the second quarter, but then we tried to keep the lead over time, but only saw it shrink. At the end we didn´t play to win, but played not to lose. We gave up too many easy points and gave up too many offensive rebounds and didn´t play good 1-1 defense. We rebounded better with seven men in Bochum. It´s not a good excuse, but we were a bit tired. Many of us practice with the BBL team and we had a two hour practice this morning. We were tired mentally”, stressed Konstantin Schubert.

In the first quarter, the 20-30 Bochum fans who made the trip to Frankfurt saw a very balanced game where Marco Buljevic got the hot hand quickly while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors lived from their strong rebounding on the offensive boards. VFL SparkassenStars Bochum got off to a fast 5-0 lead as Buljevic who played 7 Eurochallenge games with Oldenburg dropped a trey and ex NBBL allstar Felix Engel scored inside on the penetration as Frankfurt´s lazy 1-1 defense would be lacking all day long. However basketball is a game of runs and the Fraport Skyliners Juniors quickly stepped up their defense and made 5 stops while going on a 8-0 run to lead 8-5. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors became aggressive inside and ex Bremerhaven guard Garai Zeeb made a reverse lay up and lay in and Schubert also scored twice. Buljevic continued to get the ball and dropped two more trey´s while Armin Trtovac who started his career in Mainz scored inside and made a free throw to deadlock the contest at 11-11. Jules Akodo who was with the British national team last summer got aggressive and led the Fraport Skyliners Juniors on a 9-3 run scoring twice and finding Tobias Jahn who once scored 35 points against Hanau with an easy basket. Bochum fought back as American Jarvis Davis who averaged 20,0ppg with Rostock last season nailed a trey and ex Rhondorf center Alex Angerer hit free throws to cut the Frankfurt lead to 20-19. Akodo scored again and the Fraport Skyliners Juniors led 22-20 after one quarter. “We moved the ball well and Schubert and Trtocav played well in the paint. We slowed down Buljevic at the end and got some transition baskets”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Quantez Robertson. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 33% from outside and had 12 rebounds and 4 turnovers while VFL SparkassenStars Bochum were shooting 46% from the field and 50% from outside and had 4 rebounds and three turnovers.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Bochum forward Davon Roberts after the 78-70 win against the Fraport Skyliners JUniors

In the second quarter the Fraport Skyliners Juniors made their move and led by as much as 14 points only to lose focus and intensity and see their lead evaporate two three points. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors played Frankfurt basketball getting a quick rhythm on offense and slowing down the Bochum defense making everything difficult and went out on a 14-2 run to extend their lead to 36-22 as they were rolling. In the run, the Fraport Skyliners Juniors received great support from Schubert with 7 points as he dropped a trey and attacked the rim twice executing with success. The club also got big production from 2017 NBBL top scorer Felix Hecker with a three and a transition basket and a bucket from Trtovac. Zeeb was doing a good job being playmaker getting three assists while organizing the offense and getting everyone involved. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were playing with a lot of self confidence and were playing good unselfish ball while Bochum had fallen into a rut that they had problems recovering from. However as is often the case one team´s big run quickly stops and the opponent takes over going on a run as Bochum scored 11 unanswered points and suddenly Frankfurt´s comfortable lead had gone to 36-33. Bochum knew what was at stake and never gave up showing real heart and began attacking the paint and got to the free throw line three times. They also got added buckets from ex Ehingen guard Engel, ex MBC forward Davon Roberts and ex Scared Heart(NCAA) forward Ryon Howard. Bochum was playing clever offense and doing a better job on the offensive boards as Frankfurt couldn´t buy one. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors struck back on a 5-0 to stop the Bochum run as ex St Johns(NCAA) forward Richard Freudenberg hit a trey and Schubert scored again inside as Frankfurt led 41-33. However Bochum closed out with an important 5-0 run topped off by a Howard buzzer beater as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors led only 41-38. “We executed well and made shots at the start and got consistent stops. Frankfurt then went small as Jahn and Trtovac were on the bench having no inside presence where they hurt us. We then did too much 1-1 play allowing them back into the game”, stressed ex Auburn(NCAA) guard Quantez Robertson. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 53% from the field and 33% from outside and had grabbed 20 rebounds while VFL SparkassenStars Bochum were shooting 38% from the field and 47% from the three point line and had grabbed 18 boards.

The third quarter was a tight affair but the VFL SparkassenStars continued to step up their game and led by four points after 30 minutes and would never look back. In the first 3-4 minutes the Fraport Skyliners Juniors didn´t have much offensive power except for Jules Akodo who kept the Fraport Skyliners Juniors in the game. Akodo hit a three and made a lay in to keep Frankfurt ahead 46-42, but Bochum continued to attack the lane going on a 5-0 run as the Americans Roberts and Howard scored giving Bochum the 47-46 lead. Akodo struck right back giving the Fraport Skyliners Juniors the 49-47 lead as he broke the Bochum defense inside again with a penetration lay in and free throw. The game lived from the runs as Bochum took the 52-49 lead as they scored 5 unanswered points as Davis and Angerer connected with free throws and ex Essen forward Mark Gebhardt scored inside. Schubert who had the hot hand all game long and was playing superb inside out basketball tested his 24% three point accuracy nailing a trey deadlocking the game at 52-52. Bochum continued to give Frankfurt headaches on the offensive glass while Tobias Jahn was a beast getting defensive rebounds. Engel and Schubert traded buckets as the game remained tied 54-54. Bochum then got big play from their bench closing out the third quarter with Gebhardt and David Stachanczyk baskets as the latter would continue to be a menace in the fourth quarter. Bochum led 58-54 going into the fourth quarter. “Both teams were playing at the same level and missing many shots. We didn´t sink our heads into the sand, but stayed in the game” added ex Giessen guard Marco Buljevic. “We weren´t able to play our game. They took advantage of our mistakes with their experience”, added Konstantin Schubert. VFL SparkassenStars Bochum were shooting 36% from the field and 32% from the parking lot and had secured 30 rebounds and had six turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were shooting 47% from the field and 32% from the parking lot and had secured 30 rebounds, but had 12 turnovers.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Bochum guard Jarvis Davis who dropped 12 points in the 78-70 win in game 2 against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors

In the fourth quarter the VFL SparkassenStars Bochum didn´t hesitate at the start, but attacked the Fraport Skyliners Juniors on offense which they had no answer for and quickly were playing catch up ball and couldn´t get over the hump. Bochum went on a quick 9-2 run to extend their lead to 67-56 over the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. In the run, Bochum was fortified by their bench as David Stachanczyk hit a clutch trey and runner, Davis scored inside and Angerer scored inside after getting fed the lob pass from ex Herten forward Raphael Bals. Bochum played aggressive while Frankfurt played too cute with no risks turning off the aggressive button while Bochum also continued to control the offensive boards. There continued to be hope for the Fraport Skyliners Juniors as they stormed back on a 8-0 run getting back to back trey´s from Schubert and Akodo and free throws from Freudenberg to cut the Bochum advantage to 67-64. However it seemed like the Fraport Skyliners Juniors just didn´t have that will to win like in game one as in crunch-time they allowed Bochum to go on a 9-3 run to extend their lead to 76-67 and decide the game. In the run, Bochum got vital support from Engel who hit a clutch trey and also found Buljevic cutting to the hoop for an easy bucket. Buljevic showed he isn´t just a guy who sits in the corner waiting for the ball but can score on the penetration. Engel also found Angerer for an easy basket while Davis also scored in the paint. Engel had been the unsung hero finding his teammates while Frankfurt refrained from any kind of one on one defense. Freudenberg did nail a trey with 18,5 seconds remaining to cut the Bochum lead to 76-70, but the most damage had been made. Davis and Engel closed out the game with free throws. “We were very sharp on the execution in the fourth quarter. Stachanczyk and Engel gave us strength. It was a team win. Game three will be a real battle. Frankfurt has a young team and will come to Bochum showing their teeth. If they lose it´s no big deal, but our goal was to reach the next round. We have to give the fans a win after the game one loss”, smiled Marco Buljevic. “We tried some press, but they adjusted well to it. We were tired and didn´t move the ball well only doing high pick and roll. Stachanczyk and Engel hit the deciding shots”, stressed Konstantin Schubert. The VFL SparkassenStars Bochum were led by Felix Engel with 16 points. Marco Buljevic added 14 points while Alex Angerer added 12 points and 12 rebounds and Jarvis Davis had 12 points. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by led by Konstantin Schubert with 21 points while Jules Akodo added 17 points and six assists. Richard Freudenberg had 11 points. The VFL SparkassenStars Bochum shot 39% form the field and 35% from outside and had 39 rebounds and 8 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 43% from the field and 34% from outside and had 40 rebounds and 15 turnovers.

The Fraport Skyliners Survive Gotha Winning 90-82

Minus the injuries to guys like Mike Morrison and Philip Scrubb and seemingly countless sicknesses in the last weeks, the Fraport Skyliners would be in a lot better position in the EasyCredit standings now and would have a lot more leverage over other potential playoff teams. But the reality of the matter was that there were 10 games left for the 2016 Fiba Europe Cup winner and the season is far from over. The Fraport Skyliners still have a lot of tough games remaining including two difficult home games against Munich and Bamberg and hard road games against Alba Berlin, Bayreuth, Bonn and Oldenburg. It was no secret that the 2004 BBL champion would get active again on the transfer market and did hauling in guard Jordan Sibert who reached the NCAA Final 4 with Ohio State and NCAA Elite 8 with Dayton and is a huge steal for Gordon Herbert as he was somewhat underappreciated by ex team Mitteldeutscher BC where he was consistent and put up solid stats averaging 12,2ppg, 2,5rpg and 1,0apg and was let go when ex hero Andrew Warren was picked up again after being a main force in the 2004 Fiba Europe Cup moving back to the BBL this season. With Sibert, the Fraport Skyliners got a scorer who will add more scoring consistency to the wing position and give the team a new dimension something they had in abundance last season, but have been lacking this season. The Cincinnati, Ohio native who gained professional experience with the Erie Bay Hawks (D-League) and last season with PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece-A1) who lists Austin Rivers as his most difficult cover in the NCAA and his rebounding as a hidden strength could be the x-factor and the guy that is key for the Fraport Skyliners making the playoffs as the team adds some depth again in the playoff run. It was the Skyliner debut of Jordan Sibert who had only had two practices with the team, but the American had a fine debut with Frankfurt contributing 13 points, three boards, one assist and shot 63% from the field in the 90-82 victory against Gotha. After the win, he had to make the rounds with the local press and was happy with the win and new team. “My goal was to come out and make it simple and knock down some shots. I only knew a few plays so I didn´t have to think so much. I want to make as many shots as possible to help this team win. I felt great on the court hitting some shots and winning. It was good to be back on the court. I did miss some defensive assignments, but I need to be more aggressive in the future”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Jordan Sibert. Hi teammate Philip Scrubb led the team in scoring again, but was content that he had some added firepower on the floor. “He fits our system well. He handles the ball well on ball screen and can shoot the ball. I am surprised that we were able to get him, but we were very lucky”, stressed Philip Scrubb.

Basketball BL, FRAPORT SKYLINERS - ROCKETS ERFURT

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