When one looks back to game one last weekend and compare it to game three, there were so many parallel´s that one could have thought that coaches Bjoern Harmsen and Denis Wucherer might be writing a new book together as everything on the court seemed to have a certain chapter involved and both were eying towards a game five with a whole new chapter with no known ending. If a game five happens depends on the outcome of game four, but in game one Giessen had a Comfortable lead at half time, Science City Jena came back in the second half, a crushing Myles Hesson aly-op dunk as well as big free throws and a game deciding Garrett Sim play and in game three all these things were repeated again as if the basketball God had wanted it and in both games Giessen survived at the end to win 84-75 for a 2-1 series lead. A major difference in game 3 was that mascot Fabius was back again with his child Fabi as their horsing around on the court as for some reason they hadn´t been around on the court in game one. “It has been a crazy series with all games being close. There has been a special energy in each game and Jena fought back again. We kept our composure at the end and just focused on making shots and plays”, added Ex Temple(NCAA) guard TJ DiLeo. For Science City Jena all the energy and heart that they left on the court wasn´t rewarded with a win as it was obvious that they wanted the win so bad. “We made a comeback in the fourth and really wanted the win so badly. We played great defense and pressed well. My turnover at the end and Sim missed shots were key. You can´t change what the ref calls. We weren´t able to keep our composure at the end with the Sim game misconduct”, added Green Bay native Dennis Tinnon.
Gießen 46ers
Myles Hesson Hits Big Free Throws As The Giessen 46ers Squeak Out A 75-74 Nail Bitter against Science City Jena in Game One.
Fans in Giessen weren´t disappointed as they witnessed an exciting second half and were able to close out their Saturday night with a smile as the 46ers were able to Slip by ex Beko BBL team Science City Jena 75-74. Giessen dominated the first half of play, but Science City Jena fought back in the second half as Giessen didn´t come to terms with their more aggressive defense and trapping and had the chance to win the game on a last possession, but were denied as the off balance jumper by American Garrett Sim didn´t fall as it rattled of the back end of the rim. “Giessen made their shots in the first half as Bennett got hot. We made adjustments on defense and were more aggressive on defense. It was tough to loose this game. We fought so hard to get back into the game. The series still has a lot of games, so I hope we can take the energy of this game into game two”, stated Oregon native Garrett Sim. For Giessen, it was a great start to the series as they remained unbeaten against Jena this season winning for the third time. “It was great winning the game. It was the first time for me in a playoff game and I know from watching NBA how much emotion there is in these games. The game can always be up and down. We really wanted to win this game”, stated California native Steven Bennett.
The Giessen 46ers got off to the better start in the first quarter going out on a 13-4 run as they had no problem scoring against the lax Science City Jena zone. Bennett got hot rapidly and didn´t hesitate to shoot as he scored three buckets in a row. Rob Chubb also gave support with a pretty spin move. Science City Jena countered with a mini 4-0 run as 217cm German big man Daniel Mayr who is rumoured to be headed to FC Bayern Munich next season scored inside and American Dorenzo Hudson made a hard dunk soaring to the basket from the wing as Jena trailed 13-8. Giessen kept up the pressure on offense as now it was time for ex Ulm player Myles Hesson to score three consecutive baskets as Giessen led 20-9. After a another Mayr hoop, American TJ DiLeo ended the first quarter with two consecutive three pointers as Giessen led 27-11. Giessen was playing potent offense and kept Science City Jena off guard as when they did force turnovers, they led to easy buckets for Giessen. Giessen was shooting an astronomical 53% from the field and 46% from outside while Science City Jena was shooting 33% from the field and 0% form outside. Giessen had the 12-9 rebound edge, and had three turnovers while Science City Jena had four turnovers.
The EWE Baskets Oldenburg Ruin The Giessen Beko BBL Farewell With 90-59 Victory
46 years ago, baseball history wrote the impossible dream of the Boston Red Sox winning the World Series, the birth of Dirty Harry aka Clint Eastwood as a police officer taking justice into his own hands was only three years away, the rock group Beatles were in their prime releasing hit record after hit record, Bobby Orr was just starting to becoming the best ice hockey player on the planet and the now LTi Giessen 46ers then known as MTV Giessen started their life in the Beko BBL. Three Beko BBL titles and years and years of top basketball in the Ost halle finally came to an end on April 23rd, 2013 as the club played their last game in the top German basketball ending the season in 18th place and moving down to the second division. In their last home game in the always boisterous Osthalle, the troops of Mathias Fischer met 2009 Beko BBL champion EWE Baskets Oldenburg that had two ex Giessen players on their roister with American Adam Chubb who played in the Hessen city in the 2005-2006 season and German Jannik Freese who played there from 2008-2011. The fans saw two completely different halves as both teams were eye to eye in the first half, but as so often has been the case in the last months, the LTi Giessen 46ers fell apart in the second half as Oldenburg easily won their last game of the season 90-59 and now can travel with self confidence to Turkey for the 2013 Eurochallenge Final 4 this weekend. For Giessen, it was a sad farwell from the Beko BBL, but they had little firepower in the second half. “We played like always. We were very strong in the first half, but lost energy in the second half. At times we were playing with four young German youth players. We let up in the second half”, stressed LTi Giessen 46er Andreas Buchert. For Oldenburg, it was more a practice game as head coach Sebastian Machowski was able to experiment much and gave Germans Jannik Freese and Kevin Smit extended minutes. “We knew coming in that they would fight. WE took them a little lightly in the first half, but we put more defensive pressure on them, brought the ball more to the basket and capitalized on their mistakes”, stressed 2004 NBA draft pick Ricey Paulding.
The LTi Giessen 46ers Getting Ready For The Pro A
Ever since the 6th place finish of the LTi Giessen 46ers in 2004-2005 and then the soon departure of coach Stefan Koch and future Euroleague player Chuck Eidsen, the fortunes of the club has turned as dark as ominous thunder clouds looking over an empty prairie field in Oklahoma in the dog das od summer. In the last seven seasons, Giessen has finished 17th twice and on average never finished better than 15th place. Sometime in the Ost Halle there is nothing more entertaining to see on the court than lovable mascot Fabius making his rounds with his bicycle. If you’re a Giessen fan, you will really have to dig through the memory bank to find any kind of amazing memories from the last seven years, but for some the memory of Heiko Schaffartzik playing a season there and going into the 2009 Euro championships on fire and averaging 54% from the parking lot, fan favorite Florian Hartenstein playing like a basketball god in the game of his life in an exhibition against FC Barcelona in 2008 making horse meat out of NBA players David Anderson and Fran Vazquez, seeing David Teague almost single- handedly dispose of Alba Berlin with 35 points and seeing the last hurra of ex German national player Misan Haldin last season. The team that had money problems again and filled for bankruptcy, but were saved, had been rescued a few times the last years with a wild card, but not this summer as the team will play in the PRO A and look for a new rebirth with positive white clouds clearing for future blue skies. Even though the LTi Giessen 46ers have lost and lost and lost in the last months, one can´t take them lightly. “They have a completely different roster now. I have much respect for this team. They played very hard and made it tough for us. They have made it tough for every team in the first half. We had to work very hard in the second half to get the win”, stressed BBC Bayreuth point guard Kevin Hamilton.
Zach Peacock Leads The Fraport Skyliners To 11th Win In A Row In Giessen 79-59
For most Beko BBL teams going to the Stechert arena in Bamberg to getting 40 minutes of torturing basketball from the Brose Baskets Bamberg is as difficult as seeing singer Miley Cyrus with her short Justin Bieber cut, Lindsay Lohan going from an aspiring young actress to living in the tabloids with absurb stories like clogging toilets at movie sets, or ex Terminator cute kid Edward Furlong being accused of hitting his girlfriend in a domestic violence attack. Not only is it tough to play in Bamberg, but also in Giessen where the fans can be as hostel as a hungry lion who has just had his super snatched away. Many teams are able to depart the Ost Halle in Giessen with a victory on account of their better talent and decision making in crunch time, but there are seldom teams that have had such an amazing run like the Fraport Skyliners have had recently. The last time that the Frankfurt Skyliners left the living room of mascot Fabius as losers was 121 months ago on December 7th, 2002 as guys like Kai Nurnberger, ex Orlando Magic Mario Kasun and ex German national player Robert Maras were still roaming the floor with the Skyliners. In the last 10 wins for the Fraport Skyliners, it wasn´t always a team effort that got the win, but there were always certain players that stepped up on a big basis creating their own magic getting the team over the hump. Who could forget ex NBA player Desmond Ferguson dropping seven three pointers in a win in 2005 or Alex King having one of his best games as a Skyliner netting 13 points in 2008 or current Skyliner captain Marius Nolte who used his special force last season in Giessen in crunch time to help secure the win with big plays or Skyliner legend Pascal Roller winning a game with 13 seconds to play in 2010 with free throws in a 69-68 win. The Fraport Skyliners were looking for their 11th win in a row in Giessen and were as focused to keep the streak alive as Mr Gangnam style Psy is when he performs, the way Minnesota Viking Adrian Peterson motors down the field or how FC Bayern Munich soccer team is playing at the moment to win the triple as they won comfortably 79-59 to move to 16th place in the standings. It was the fourth win in a row for Skyliner captain Marius Nolte who had no real explanation for the domination just looking into the Giessen air. “I always feel good playing here. We have always played interesting games here where there was a lot of fight from both teams. I think possibly the dominance lies in the Giessen air”, smiled Marius Nolte. Skyliner guard Ted Scott had another strong performance netting 16 points with the only thing missing was a holster and pistol, but he was amazed at the rivalry atmosphere in the Osthalle. “I knew coming into the game about this big rivalry and how important the game was. I remember back at West Virginia State that we also had intense games against our rival Alderson. The atmosphere was intense here and with the gym being so small, it felt like fans were on your shoulders. I was impressed how the Giessen fans stuck behind their team”, added Ted Scott. Sometimes math plays a factor, but sometimes it just takes longer for reality to set in. “Giessen-Frankfurt is a very strong rivalry. I remember winning here with Frankfurt and Ludwigsburg. Mathematically the odds keep getting bigger that a team will finally win after so many loses”, commented basketball expert Steven Clauss. After their 11th loss in a row, the odds will be even be bigger next season that they will win again if the team is still in the Beko BBL.
Chad Prewitt And Barry Stewart Shoot Out The Lights Erasing The 9 Game Giessen Losing Streak Against The Fraport Skyliners 78-65
Winning against the LTi Giessen 46ers in recent years has seemed as simple for the Fraport Skyliners as the fourth quarter was
recently for San Francisco 49er Alex Smith as he showed Drew Brees and the Saints who boss is and sent them on an early vacation, Hollywood actress Jessica Biel not getting ticked off at the material girl Madonna for accidently stomping all over her dress at the Golden Globe awards or Tim Tebow fans hurriedly jumping off his band wagon as Kevin known as Jesus of West Hollywood recently did after the Broncos humiliating 45-10 playoff loss to the New England Patriots and Tom Brady. Coming into the game, the Fraport Skyliners had won the last nine games against the LTiGiessen 46ers and last four at home. The last loss against Giessen was a 2007 Rouven Roessler buzzer beater as ex Skyliners Robert Maras and Gerrit Terdenge celebrated while guys like Michael Bauer, Mike Benton and Jemeil Rich were sulking. However there is always a time for long winning streaks to get snapped as the LTi Giessen 46ers marched into the Fraport arena and quickly got next to the fire place shoving the Skyliners away early and never letting them get comfortable near the warmth with their FAZ newspaper as they 
won the Hessen derby 78-65. For the players on both teams the long streak didn´t mean much except to Mckinney who had lost to Giessen only once in his career. “We could of ended the first half of the season with a win and have a clear mind going into the second half of the season, but we were a step slow today”, stated a disappointed Jimmy Mckinney. For American Chad Prewitt, he had worn the red of the Artland Dragons for 175 games, but felt very comfortable in the dark red colors of Giessen. “I may not be part of this team long, but I know about the Frankfurt-Giessen rivalry. We have been struggling this season and had injuries, so this was a big win. Frankfurt has always had good teams, but for some reason, they play better on the road this season. We are just happy that we got the win. It was hard to see Achmadschah Zazai go down with an injury. He is always hustling so much. This win is for him”, stressed Chad Prewitt. “It was tough losing this game after not playing in Giessen. I feel a bit responsible as I made some mistakes at the end. This loss reminded me of when we played Nichols in college. We beat them my first three years twice each season, but lost my last game against them”, stressed Skyliner guard Devin Gibson.
The Fraport Skyliners were looking for their second home win in a row, but continue having problems winning in their own living room. The Fraport Skyliners enter the 2012 Beko BBL Allstar break with an 8-11 record and rest in 12th place. It was a very bitter loss as the team had fought back to tie the game at 57, but were unable to get over the hump and celebrate their third home win of the season. “Key for Giessen winning was that they did a good job capitalizing on our defensive breakdowns. It was just a terrible defense performance by us. They made us pay for that with their three point shooting”, stressed St Louis native Jimmy Mckinney.
Can the Fraport Skyliners Win Their Fifth Game In A Row At Home Against The LTi Giessen 46ers ?
January is always an interesting month in the Beko BBL as the Allstar break surfaces and the schedule allows many teams to have their two meetings of the season in only a short period of time. After the Fraport Skyliners celebrated a more than satisfying 64-56 win in the always noise infested Osthalle against the LTi Giessen 46ers on January second, the two teams will battle in round two of the 2012 Hessen derby again on January 20th in the Fraport arena. So much can happen in an 18 day span in this huge world like Hollywood actor George Clooney dating half of the Dallas Cowboys cheerleader squad and it somehow not being noticed, Tim Tebow getting one million marriage proposals for his heroic play in the last months and getting the thumbs up from stone cold Steve Austin for duplicating the infamous 3:16 against the New England Patriots which didn´t happen, Paris Hilton setting a new Google record for clicks or Kim kardashian/Kris Humphries continuing to set new news records with their bizarre relationship. However one thing is certain, in this 18 day span nothing will change with the immaculate on going nine game winning streak of the Fraport Skyliners and four game winning streak at home against the LTi Giessen 46ers. The last 
time that Giessen won in Frankfurt was in 2007 as Rouven Roessler hit a buzzer beater dashing the hopes of the then Deutsche Bank Skyliners. Roessler is now playing for BG Karlsruhe since years and could enter the arena now and remain unnoticed by Skyliner players except for Jimmy Mckinney or sport director Kamil Novak who might cringe at his presence as they were in the arena on that bitter day. No current Giessen player was in the arena in 2007 and surely don´t know about the long losing streak and will be focused on getting a much needed win to stay alive in the standings. “Records are there to be broken. We don’t care what the record is or who the team is. We just want to win”, stressed Giessen 46er Achmadschah Zazai.
Marius Nolte Uses The Force In Crunch Time Propelling The Fraport Skyliners to a 64-56 Victory In The Hessen Derby
With 2012 just born and The Fraport Skyliners riding on a hot and smooth three game winning streak on the road, the club was able to continue their untypical but charming potent play on the road winning their fourth game in a row away from their living room winning for the ninth time in a row against the LTi Giessen 46ers 64-56 and keeping the traditional basketball team winless since 109 months against Frankfurt dating back to December seventh where guys like Kai Nurnberger, Mario Kasun and Robert Maras were still roaming the floor for the Skyliners. Rivalries in pro sports is nothing uncommon as the NBA lives by having the Boston Celtics-Los Angeles Lakers tug of war basketball struggle each season, MLB has the do or die game mentality between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees and the NHL has the Boston Brunis-Montreal Canadians season bashes. There is a special rivalry in the Beko BBL between Frankfurt and Giessen which not only has the players going at a special extra full tilt, but always challenges the fans at getting a good vocal chord workout as neither organization wants to lose. St Louis native and Skyliner Jimmy Mckinney who has grown into a real team leader has never lost in Giessen as he came into the match as focused as Janet Hubert who played Aunt Viv on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air of never doing a reunion show since she can´t stand Mr Man in black Will Smith, actress Kim Kardashian sitting on Santas lap at a Christmas party and looking sweet and not naughty or NBA player Kris Humphries giving a 21 point performance despite being booed each time he touched the ball and Mckinney was able to win his sixth game in a row in Giessen and despite the success was his normal and slick and suave self after the game. “I guess I am a type of good luck charm for the Skyliners. This is a great rivalry. It always gets so loud when Giessen goes on a run. The atmosphere reminded a lot of the Vashon-Belmont atmosphere. I remember in the playoffs, there was a projector outside with 300 people watching who couldn´t get in. We won with less than a minute to play”, stressed Jimmy Mckinney. “There was much emotion in this game. We fought and did the best we could. The fans are always loud. It wasn´t any different when MBC played Chemnitz. The fans were screaming for minutes”, stressed Giessen guard Wayne Bernard. Skyliner forward Jacob Burtschi played his first Hessen derby and was impressed. “It was so loud in here that it felt like the fans were on top of you. Their fans almost willed their team to the win. I remember the Hagen-Bonn rivalry, but the Giessen fans are more memorable. Giessen have diehard fans”, added Jacob Burtschi.
Can Bjoern Harmsen Bring Some Pat Riley Success And Glitz To The Giessen 46ers?
Recently two German head coaches Sebastian Machowski and Bjoern Harmsen stood head to head in the always bedlam like atmosphere of the Osthalle in Giessen and their demenour and style couldn´t have been more opposite with the Braunschweig pooh bah Machowski staying calm for most of the game while the Giessen skipper Harmsen jumping around like a small displeased boy not getting any candy in his Christmas stocking and constantly having one on one talks with his players after mistakes especially with Achmadschah Zazai and discussing with referees as if he was playing the lottery with getting possible technical fouls. For years, Harmsen has been prowling the Beko BBL sidelines and has been known for being the youngest coach in the league getting his first taste of the top German league in 2007 with Science City Jena. He then moved a bit more east to the Mitteldeutscher BC where it didn´t take him long to shape the 2004 Fiba cup winner into an almost Beko BBL playoff team in 2010 just missing the playoffs by a hair. When examining the gGrman closer, you see a mix between German actor Ralf Richter in one of his evil roles in the famous German crime show Ein fall Fur zwei with the glasses and the legendary ex Los Angeles Lakers head coach Pat Riley with his slicked back hair. Harmsen is a basketball junkie who already released his first book at age 20 “Basketball emotional-With mental strength to success”. He got tips from famous Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo as well as German coach Dirk Bauermann. Harmsen has understood in the last years, how to make mediocre teams into better teams and is slowly on his way to making the LTi Giessen 46ers into a team that wants nothing to do with the Beko BBL cellar. “Harmsen is an intense coach. He brings good tactical skills to the court and has had success with lower budget teams in this league. I definitely don´t want to see his hair gel bill”, joked New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig center Kyle Visser. One Giessen 46ers who definitely knows how the coaching clock of Harmsen ticks is Serb radenko Pilcevic who is playing his third season for the German coach. “A coach that he looks up to is the Spanish coach Sergio Scariolo. He has a lot of experience, knows how to work with players and makes for a good atmosphere. I remember my first season with MBC, we played very well and we needed one win to reach the playoffs. We beat all the top teams that season like Bamberg, Alba Berlin, Artland and Oldenburg. The season was a lot of fun and I remember most how he waited for me to play well and had so much trust in my game”, added Radenko Pilcevic. “Harmsen sticks to details, can motivate players well and just plays European basketball”, stressed ex Giessen 46er and 2009 beko BBL champion with Oldenburg Marco Buljevic.
David Teague: I Played Until My Wheels Didin´t Move Anymore
David Teague is a 28 year old 196cm guard playing his first season for Ass.Pallacanestro Sant’ Antimo (Italy) who is an athletic wing player who possesses an excellent perimeter shot, is a solid penetrator who can get to the basket off the dribble and is a tenacious defender who can shut down dribble penetration. He grew up in Indianapolis and went to Pike high school and at Bridgeton Academy. He played at Purdue from 2002-2007 and In his senior year, he played 34 games averaging 14.3ppg, 5.0rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 44.0%, 3Pts: 41.2%, FT: 75.4% Purdue from 2002-2007. In his first professional season, he played in Greece for AEL 1964 playing 23 games averaging 9.7ppg, 3.5rpg, 2FGP: 48.0%, 3PT: 32.0%, FT: 78.0%. Last season, he played in France for JA Vichy Val d’Allier Auvergne basket playing 4 EuroChallenge games: averaging 8.8ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.8spg and playing 29 games in the French League averaging 13.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.3spg, FGP: 42.7%, 3PT: 30.9%, FT: 73.4%. In 2009-2010, he played for the Giessen 46ers where he led the Beko BBL in scoring playing 2009-2010: LTi Giessen 46ers (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 18 games: Score-1(20.4ppg), 4.7rpg, Steals-4(1.5spg), FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 32.3%, FT: 70.0%. Last season, he played for Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (Brazil-NBB, starting five): Liga Americas: 6 games: 16.7ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.2spg, FGP: 51.0%, 3PT: 40.6%, FT: 61.1%; Brazilian League: 22 games: 13.6ppg, 3.0rpg, 2FGP: 54.7%, 3PT: 35.4%, FT: 81.3%. German Hoops spoke to Teague about his basketball career in Italy during the NBA lockout.
You are playing your first season in Italy in the Lega 2. How would you compare it to the leagues in Greece, France and Germany where you played previously?
It is lot like the France Pro A. There are a lot of good Americans playing in Italy and in the Lega 2.
You have been scoring nicely in the Lega 2. What is your role? Is it similar to what you had with the LTi Giessen 46ers?
It is a little different. As Campbell got hurt, my role sort of changed. Now it is a lot more like with Giessen where I am required to score more and be more aggressive on offense.
German Hoops 