It is that time of the year in the Beko BBL, where teams see each other for the second time of the season and teams aren’t the same at the start like in Oldenburg where two new players have arrived with Eddie Gill and Luka Bogdanovic and so much has changed in the last months and recently like The Gloria Giants Duesseldorf making it seem like only pigs could fly if they would ever upset The Brose Baskets Bamberg, but they did, or Tom Brady who is focused to win his 4th Superbowl championship, but is becoming more and more the respected father as he is spending much extra time with his little son on a scooter in downtown Boston when he might be protecting his ankles in a bubble until the Superbowl is over and how the time of comebacks might finally be over for legendary Green Bay Packers Bret Favre as this would be a radical change since he has been the master of the comebacks like Ratiopharm Ulm Lee Humphrey is netting three pointers at the rate of a fine tuned clock work. After the bitter 87-82 loss in Ulm, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners will have to be ready for the new changes with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg as they meet the club from coach Predrag Krunic only 72 hours later on Sunday January 9th. Just how well has Oldenburg grown in last months? Oldenburg has grown like every other team has so far. They first had to find an identity, because they had lost players from last season and the new players had to find their roles. The team has improved and is playing better as the season has gone along”, stressed TBB Trier guard John Bynum.
The club has brought in American Eddie Gill and Serb Luka Bogdanovic as replacements for the disappointing Steven Smith and Nemanja Protic who had been released recently. Eddie is a 32 year old 183cm guard who is named the thrill. He has had a solid NBA career having played 200 NBA games for teams like the New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and Seattle Supersonics, but also played two full seasons for the Indiana Pacers from 2004-2006. He also has had European experience having played in Greece and Italy and last season in Belgium for Base Oostende (Belgium-D1, starting five): 26 games: 7.0ppg, 3.8rpg, Assists-2(4.3apg), Steals-2(2.2spg), FGP: 28.0%, 3PT: 27.8%, FT: 78.0%. So far this season for Oldenburg, he has played five BEKO BBL games averaging 6,2ppg, 2,0rpg and 3,6apg in 18 minutes per game. Luka Bogdanovic is a 25 year old 210cm forward from Serbia.  He has a great shooting touch and can hit the three pointer and mid range jumper and is effective on the defensive glass. However he has mediocre athletic ability, but has played very solid whereever he has played. He started his career at Crvena Zvezda Beograd and in the last years has played for Partizan Belgrad, Le Mans, and DKV Joventut Badalona . In his career, he has played 92 games in team international play including 51 Euroleague games. From 2007-2010, he was able to score in double figures each season twice in Euroleague play and once in Eurocup play. The experience that the only 25 year old has is unmatched on the Oldenburg roster. Last season, he played for  DKV Joventut Badalona (Spain-ACB): EuroCup: 12 games: 10.3ppg, 4.3rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 40.3%, FT: 80.0%; Spanish League: 34 games: 9.3ppg, 3.3rpg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 40.3%, FT: 80.0%. This season, Bogdanovic is averaging 10,0ppg and 3,0rpg in 19 minutes per game.

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A few days ago, the Deutsche Bank Skyliners roster had some holes in the roster and appeared weaker, but then all of a sudden as if the charming tooth fairy had come to make basketball house calls, left two bucks under the Skyliner pillow with Brad Buckman and Jermaine Bucknor making the Skyliner world look a lot more enticing again similar to the world of FSV Mainz 05 and their current seven game winning streak, the last 14 years of Seal´s love life sharing champagne non stop with the likes of models Tatjana Patitz, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum and the average German person feeling elated about the 20^th anniversary of the German unification, but unfortunately the two new very hungry bucks were unable to slow down the EWE Baskets thunders birds loosing a nail bitter in the last minute 70-67. “We were unable to stop the flight of the thunderbirds at the end. We played well enough to win”, stressed San Diego native Grayson Moyer. Ricky Paulding had a huge grin on his face after the win and no one knew if it was because he had recently become a dad for the second time or because he had beaten friend Jimmy Mckinney for the sixth time as a pro, but actually it had to do with one of the new Skyliner bucks. “I don’t know why the bucks couldn´stomp on the thunderbirds, but I do know I got revenge on Brad Buckman. I can remember that he beat me all the time with Texas when I was playing at Missouri”, stressed 2004 Detroit Pistons draft pick Ricky Paulding. The Skyliner played well for 39 minutes and then lost the game in the last minute. “We had problems executing in the last minute. There was a problem getting the new guys integrated so fast, but we showed that we could stick with one of the top teams”, warned Skyliner captain Pascal Roller. Oldenburg showed in crunch time that they have nerves of steal coming back to win. “We dug ourselves a hole, but we never gave up. We came back got stops and made plays on offense. The ball bounced our way at the end”, added Rickey Paulding.

The Deutsche Bank Skyliners had been without the two bucks 96 hours ago and considering how long the two players had been with the Skyliners and how little time that they could practice with the team, the Frankfurt club played a very strong game against a tough Oldenburg team. “It was tough integrating the new players, but they gave everything just like the rest of the team. What many teams did in six weeks in preseason, we have to do within hours concerning getting the team to find a rhythm”, added Skyliner sports director Kamil Novak. Buckman and Bucknor combined for 19 points in 34 minutes. “The two new guys had one practice together. I think that the guys did a pretty good job in their first game”, said Skyliner coach Gordon Herbert. Buckman left the dressing room with a positive outlook on the future of the team once everyone is on the same page. “You couldn´t really expect too much in this game from us. It was the first time that we played together. Once we learn each other then we will be more successful.We were thrown into the fire today and we didn´t really know what we should do. Once when we have the plays down then we will be very good”, warned Texas native Brad Buckman.

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Not only does the course of a basketball game change dramatically with a sudden and unexpected massive run similar in astonishment as to when New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriquez steps up to the plate with his broad shoulders and bulging pecs and squares to bunt with the bases loaded instead of hitting the baseball out of the park, but the start of a new season can change also within days due to certain events. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners recently had a 8-0 preseason winning streak and any doubts of a possible sour start were stopped with injuries and an unexpected released player have turned sweet expectations  to a positive beginning somewhat to raised eyebrows to the uncertainty of success just like if pop singer Rihanna started a concert with a Metallica cover, Tom Brady played a whole game without releasing bullets to wide receiver Wes Welker or The Los Angeles Lakers allowing Lamar Odom to run the show for a quarter instead of Derrick Fischer. Frankfurt enters the 2010-2011 season with some question marks as energy spark plug Quantez Robertson who is as active on the court as comedian Jim Carey can be with his facial expressions and basketball hulk Joe Dabbert are injured and roaming the sidelines. Forward Carlos Powell had a brief stay in Frankfurt and had to depart on account of not passing the medical check. With the season just around the corner, the current situation isn´t an easy one for the club, but captain Pascal Roller is confident that the club can be successful this season.. “This is a difficult situation for us. We have big games this week, but it is what it is. The injuries have been bad timing. I have a good impression of team so far. We had a good preseason and it has taken some time to get the new players integrated. We have a strong coaching staff that will find the strength of each player and how to use it best. The team has good character and I am sure that we will learn how to use the strength successfully”, warned guard Pascal Roller.

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