At the pre-season press conference of the OPEL SKYLINERS in Russelsheim last Monday, they not only announced the renewal of the sponsoring contract with main and name sponsor Adam Opel AG until 2005 but they also presented the new team and talked about the plans and the goals for the upcoming season.
New team presented
With an age average of 23 years the OPEL SKYLINERS will start with their youngest roster ever into the new basketball season. World Championship bronze medallists, Pascal Roller (25 yrs.) and Robert Maras (23 yrs.), European basketball champion of 1993, Kai Nurnberger (35 yrs.), and Dominik Hennen (21 yrs., with double licence TV Langen) have already been with the Frankfurt team for the past years.
New in the team are Mario Kasun from Croatia (22 yrs.) and Jukka Matinen (23 yrs.) from Finland. In addition, with Robert Garrett (25 yrs.) and Stipo Papic (23 yrs.), two other German national league players have been contracted on a long-term basis. Also in the roster, junior national player Alex King (17 yrs., with double licence Eintracht Frankfurt).
Peter Fehse and Malik Badiane join the team
The season preparation of the team in their training camp in Italy has brought up two more players who will join the team during the next season: 19 year-old A2-player Peter Fehse and 18 year-old and junior national player from Senegal Malik Badiane. Fehse was drafted by the Seattle Sonics in summer and will stay in Germany for one more year playing with a double licence for Eintracht Frankfurt. Malik Badiane played with the representative team of Senegal at the African Junior Championships and will be posted as another double licence player for partner team TV Langen.
Head coach Gordon Herbert praises team spirit
"We are on the right track. The chemistry and the spirit in the team are great. The basis we are starting from this season is far better than last year. Our players are very good and highly talented. We want to give them the chance but also the responsibility to work hard, get much playing time and develop further."
"We do not just want to look at the next season. Instead, we are planning on a long-term basis. Only this way, we will be able to be successful and become a top team in Europe; and the prerequisites are pretty good. We will get better and better as the season progresses. Our audience and fans will see attractive and athletic basketball and feel the excitement within the team."
Charlie Miller not signed
The 25 year-old US-American was in tryout for three weeks in September. However, at the end of the training camp in Treviso, Italy, the OPEL SKYLINERS decided not to contract Miller for the next season, as he did not meet all the requirements of the Frankfurt team. Now, the OPEL SKYLINERS are putting out feelers on the market, again, in order to find another American quality player, who has the potential and the talent to move the team even further.
Manager Gunnar Wobke plans with a long-term view
"With the OPEL SKYLINERS we want to build up something in the long run. For us, it is not about signing on many highly-paid and experienced players, who would only play in the team on a seasonal basis. That does not automatically guarantee success; plus, we do not have the financial means to do that. We have now put together a team of very talented and young players, who have been signed on for a longer period, in order to form a European top basketball team in the future.?
