Not only was I witness of the massive battle between Mathieu Grujicic and Ivan Crnjac at the 2023 JBBL (U-16) final in Frankfurt as I had the pleasure of calling the game, but I was only high in the arena while Maximillian Peters was witnessing the back and forth scoring punching on the court. Grujicic finished his scoring masterpiece netting 53 points while Crnjac followed with a 41 points night. It was a game that will surely be remembered in a decade and even in 2-3 decades when people recall the greatest head to head battles between 2 players in a JBBL final. Peters was 16 at the time and was a very important role player/scorer who could launch long three´s with the best of them at his age then. This final is a game that he will never forget. “The atmosphere was great in Frankfurrt. I was really impressed by Mathieu Grujicic. They had that next play mentality. I remember looking at the score board from time to time to see how both were doing. I will never forget Ivan´s back to back three´s that got us to overtime”, remembered Maximilian Peters (206-F-2007). That was one of his coolest experiences as a player, but he also has another one in his young life so far. “Last summer being invited to a U-17 training camp was another great experience. I was training with the guys for 1,5 months. I was cut near the end and Germany finished 12th. It was the highest level that I had ever seen”, stressed Maximilian Peters.

Pic credit Skyliners EV

The young German who lists Nathan Soliman as the toughest player that he has ever faced up until now was born on January 26th, 2007. He grew up in Mainz, Germany. He like so many young German boys began to play soccer at a young age and played for 5-6 years. He began at ASC Mainz at age 12 and played one JBBL season before coming to Frankfurt for his second JBBL year. His big role model was Jayson Tatum and his 2 favorite Skyliner players were Joshua Obiesie and Quantez Robertson. But he also likes to observe another former Skyliner. “I also like Joe Voigtman. I enjoy his smartness on the court and how he moves”, said Maximilian Peters. He came to Frankfurt when he was 15. “My mentor Kevin Beiko had contact to head coach Olaf Kanngiesser and he organized a try out for me”, said Maximilian Peters. He didn´t have to wait long for tasting success as i his first season in Frankfurt, he helped Eintracht Frankfurt Skyliners reach the JBBL top 4 and final in 2023. “I have great memories of that season. Our team chemistry was great. Losing the final against Alba Berlin was frustrating though. I had some unlucky three point shot chances in the final, but unfortunately didn´t have a big impact. I had had a good game in the semi-final against Vechta. That is where Dirk Bauermann noticed me”, recalled Maximilian Peters. It is only logical that a competitor like him not forget a brutal loss like that. “I think that final had to do with who had the better form that day. I think that if we had played a second time, we would have won”, warned Maximilian Peters.

The forward who lists Ivan Crnjac, Namori Omog, Kostantinos Kapetanakis, Yves Ochs and Niklas Mutter as his 5 best teammates of all-time is fortunate to be on a team this season that is really talented. The NBBL (U-19) team could be on the way to the Top 4 in Berlin this season. “The Top 4 is our goal. We definitely want to get there. I don´t know what will happen then. Our mentality is to go there and win the title. We have guys with experience. If we keep growing as a team, then we have good chances”, warned Maximilian Peters. The team is undefeated at the moment and are simply a special group of guys´. “The 2007 guys have big roles and we simply have great chemistry. It reminds me of our JBBL team 2 years ago. We have very good individual class. Our only weakness is at the center spot”, warned Maximilian Peters. The club have great role players like him and Julius Messer who at the same time can score 20 points on any night, a great bench who all give energy and the trio of Crnjac, Omog and Edoka who lead the team forward. “That Trio is very important. All produce very well on offense. You need a guy like Crnjac as a leader. Omog is very mature. They all compliment each other well and keep the team together. We have 4-5 guys that can score 20 points any night and step up. That is a great strength of ours. stressed Maximilian Peters.

Pic credit Skyliners EV

The Mainz native who lists his NBA Mount Rushmore as Lebron, Jordan, Kobe and Shaq and his Euro Mount Rushmore as Spanoulis, Doncic, Giannis and Jokic and has Jordan as his GOAT is a 206cm forward. He is a modern day big that compares his game to Kevin Durant. “I have long arms and legs and am not so wide, but mobile. My shot also looks like Durant´s”, smiled Maximilian Peters who currently is averaging 8,6ppg and 5,6rpg in the NBBL and 2,5ppg and 2,1rpg in the Pro B. His biggest weapon is his three pointer and his favorite position is the 4, but is learning to play the 5. He also has a nice pick and pop game. An area of his game that he is working a lot on is his defense. “My defense is developing. It is my biggest weakness, but I´m working on it. We switch with me. In the future, I want to be versatile and be able to defend 1-5. I also need to improve my 1-1 defense, added Maximilian Peters. But he is also working on a few other areas. “I´m working on my lateral quickness and counter moves on the close out. Plus your shot can never be perfect”, commented Maximilian Peters. It is no surprise that his long term goal is to become a professional player, but he also wants to have a plan B ready to unwrap if needed. “I´m in 12th grade now and could see myself studying sport science at university as a correspondence course”, expressed Maximilian Peters. It will be interesting to see where his journey will continue in the next years. For now he is concentrating on school and the NBBL season that could become a magical one. He probably will keep the JBBL final in the back of his mind as well. Who knows, perhaps 1 or even 2 of the great trio could have an off day. Then it will be up to guys like him and Julius Messer to help carry the team with scoring. Peters just may get that revenge in a final again.