"It was a tough game, but we fought for 40 minutes and showed that we would not give up and lose this important game", expressed forward Ibrahim Diarra. GHP Bamberg had a golden opportunity to win the title, but couldn´t withstand the heat or Frankfurt fans. "We fought hard, but Frankfurt gave everything and deserved to win. They had too many open shots and easy baskets in the second half", said Guard Stefen Hamann.
The OPEL SKYLINERS started strong in the first quarter and did not let GHP Bamberg take an early lead.Frankfurt led 18 to 17 after one, but the turnovers were the factor.At halftime, GHP Bamberg already had 16 turnovers. "The turnovers in the first half killed us. If we had limited the turnovers, then we could have won this game", said American guard Demond Mallet. Chris Williams scored 15 of his 21 points in the first half and was a main reason why Frankfurt played so strong. Williams also registered 11 rebounds and three steals and said that the team used their bodies better than in the previous games. "The key to the win was that we were more physical than them."
The OPEL SKYLINERS solved another problem, that have plagued them in the past. Frankfurt has had problems starting focused after halftime, but that was no problem today. Frankfurt came out as if they had been totally recharged. "We had a good talk at halftime. We warmed up well and that is the key to find our rhythm for the third quarter", added Chris Williams. GHP Bamberg was not able to solve the quick pace play by the OPEL SKYLINERS. "We play ed to quick for GHP Bamberg in the first half, so they played zone defense in the second half to slow down the pace. But we play very well with zone and we led most of second half by more than 10 points, so we proved that we can play dominant against changing defenses", expressed captain Pascal Roller. After three quarters, Frankfurt had a 53 to 43 lead.
The OPEL SKYLINERS led with as much as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but GHP Bamberg made it exciting as they stormed back in the last minutes and cut the lead to two points with four seconds remaining. The reason for the comeback were missed free throws and three three pointers by 41 yearold Derrick Taylor. " We didn´t want to lose this game. We were desparate at the end and did all we could with this mini comeback. I hope the closing play will carry over into game five for us", said a disappointed Derrick Taylor. Captain Pascal Roller secured the win with a free throw.
The only other Opel Skyliner in double figures besides Chris Williams was Spyro Panteliadis, who scored 12 points and dished out three assists. Pascal Roller scored nine points and had six assists. American Tyrone Ellis had eight points. It was a total team effort, as almost every player scored except Miro Todic. "I have always said when our big guys step up, then we win. Today Bernd Kruel, Malick Badiane and Hasan Özkan stepped up", said Tyrone Ellis. Hasan Özkan played 2:11 minutes, but in that time showed his aggressiveness and scored four points. Jukka Matinen broke his wrist in game three and will not be back this season. "The team did not need my three- pointers. We have good enough shooters anyway. This season has shown that whenever there was an injury, it gave another player the chnace to step up and that happened today" said forward Jukka Matinen.
GHP Bamberg shot only 44% and never found their offensive rhythm. They were led by Derrick Taylor, who scored 16 points, including four clutch three- pointers. Stefen Hamann had 12 points and four assists. Demond Mallet is still trying to find his rhythm from game one,as he scored 11 points. Center Chris Ensminger did an adequate job with eight rebounds, but his seven points was below his average. Mike Nahar had a quiet game with four points. Koko Archibong played 36 minutes, but was not as effective scoring only nine points. "Nahar and Ensminger had good games in game three, but the key was that Kruel and Badiane played so well.We played physical and Ensminger did not bully us around", said Tyrone Ellis. If the OPEL SKYLINERS can continue to match the Physicalness of GHP Bamberg, then they will have a great chance to repeat as champions.
The ten months of hard work that the OPEL SKYLINERS have invested in the 2004-2005 season comes down to one game. Both teams seem very confident that they will prevail. "We fought hard all year long to have home court advantage in the last game and we will take advantage of it in game five", said GHP coach Dirk Bauermann. The OPEL SKYLINERS have lost three games in Bamberg this year and know that they will need to give 110% to win in Freak City. "Game five will be a game of emotion. Whoever plays best as a team on offense and defense will win", stressed Tyrone Ellis. The OPEL SKYLINERS have a small edge with their experience. "We have proved that we play well in five game series. We withstood the pressure today and now GHP Bamberg is under pressure to win the title in Bamberg", said Pascal Roller. Game five is Thursday June 23 at 20:00 in Bamberg.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
