After the exciting overtime win in Paderborn in Cup play, the OPEL SKYLINERS need to shift gears and focus on the BBL and the best possible position for the playoffs. On Sunday, Frankfurt will meet EWE Oldenburg, a very tough team, looking to sneak into the playoffs. EWE Oldenburg has a six game winning streak and needs one more victory to reach a playoff spot. The OPEL SKYLINERS have started their own two game winning streak and will have to give a great performance at home to continue their quest for homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The OPEL SKYLINERS are also looking for revenge after their loss in Oldenburg on December 26, 84 to 70. Frankfurt played with little enthusiasm and it seemed like they might still have been preoccupied with the holiday season. Frankfurt had an astronomical 21 turnovers in that game and Coach Didin asked his team, where their heart was? The OPEL SKYLINERS have often shown at home that they can play with a lot of heart and energy. "We will need to be very focused, because this will be a very hard fought battle from beginning to end", said assistant coach Simon Cote.
EWE Oldenburg are led by two Americans Tyron McCoy, known as "the cat", and Terry Black from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. McCoy leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.3 points, hauling down 3.6 rebounds and dishing out 3.3 assists per game. Black is seventh in BBL rebounding with 7.9 rebounds per game. "They have great players and we will have to watch McCoy and Black carefully. They are a good athletic team that has a strong transition game. They are playing really well at the moment", expressed Simon Cote. They also have a sensational point guard in Kristaps Valters from Lettland, who is second in team scoring with 10.7 points per game. Australian Frank Drmic is second in team rebounding with 5.0 rebounds per game.
This game against Oldenburg will be another fine opportunity for the OPEL SKYLINERS centers to finally breakout of their slump and register some good games. It will not be an easy game for the centers, since EWE Oldenburg has some really big guys. The biggest is Manchester, England native Mike Bernard, who is 206 cm tall and weighs 130 kilos. He is averaging 9.4 points per game and will most likely try to take advantage of his stature under the basket. There is also American Wilbur Johnson from Philadelphia, who is 203 cm tall and weighs 120 kilos. At the moment EWE Oldenburg is third in the BBL in team rebounding and the OPEL SKYLINERS are in seventh place. The center play is still not where the Coaches want it to be. They need to play smart with a lot of intensity like the centers have in the past. They have to do it on a constant level. If Frankfurt can show some of that old fire under the basket, then the road to victory against EWE Oldenburg will be a lot easier.
One lucky fan will depart the Ballsporthalle with the keys to a new Opel Astra GTC Skyline. During halftime, there will be a shootout between two lucky candidates. The winner will receive the keys from Thomas Frommer, the general sales manager from Georg von Opel. The candidates were established by a competition that was run in all Georg von Opel car houses. The financial turnover of the competition will go to a project in Frankfurt that wants to improve integration of young people through sports.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
