With just two games remaining in the BBL season, the fight for the playoff spots are heating up as fans are anxiously awaiting who will be Frankfurt´s first round opponent. It seems as it could be Gießen, but before overzealous fans think about travel arrangements to Gießen, one should remember the first order of business, the upcoming game against Bonn on Saturday in Höchst at 18:30 live on Premiere. The Telekom Baskets are fighting for the last playoff spot with Ludwigsburg and Oldenburg and will enter the Ballsporthalle ready to play. "It will be a real dog fight. They are battleing for the final playoff spot and we will play them again in the Top Four. This game will set the tone for the Top Four game.We will play them on our homecourt and we want to win", said an anxious Ibrahim Diarra.
The OPEL SKYLINERS started the new year on a positive note, beating Bonn on the road 79 to 68. American Chris Williams gave a spectacular exhibition in scoring 27 points and hauling down 16 rebounds. But who can forget the nail biting playoff series in 2004 against Bonn? The Telekom Baskets made it really exciting forcing a game five after they upset Frankfurt in the Ballsporthalle with the winning basket by Oluoma Nnamaka with 1.7 seconds remaining. Fortunally, Frankfurt was able to overcome Bonn in game five and reach the finals and later win their first BBL championship. According to Finnish forward Jukka Matinen, the winner on Saturday will have a very important advantage. "We want to have the upper hand going into the Top Four. If we beat them, we will have the mental edge over them for our game aginst them in the Top Four. It will be a close game."
The Telekom Baskets might be in eighth place now, but they belong to the top teams in the BBL. They have had a lot of injuries this season and without them would probaly be near the top of the standings. Bonn seems to rely more on their forgein players, as there are only two Germans on the 13 man roster. They are led by Serbian Aleksander Nadjfeji who has been plagued by injuries, but is averaging 14.1 points per game and 5.2 rebounds. Frankfurt captain Pascal Roller will have his hands full with Bonn`s playmaker Branko Milisavljevic from Serbia-Montenegro, who is leading the team in scoring with 17.2 points and dishing out 5.7 assists per game. "We will have to contain Nadjfeji, because he can score from allover and also Milisavljevic, who is a very tough player and the team in general plays well together", expressed a cautious Ibrahim Diarra. The season has not been easy due to all the injuries and with eight new players. American "Dr. Dunk" Altron Jackson, who is averaging 13 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and Swedish forward Oluoma Nnamaka, who is averaging 10.0 and 6.1 rebounds per game add intensity and agressiveness to the team from the Rhine.
The rebounding of the OPEL SKYLINERS seems to be a real thorn in their side and has contributed to some games being lost in the last weeks. The coaching staff has vehemently worked on fixing this problem. Assistant coach Simon Cote still remains confident that the rebounding will improve as time goes by and the core of young players develop and gain more experience. The OPEL SKYLINERS are used to see themselves in the top three for team rebounding since 2000, but this season they are at ninth place. The question remains if Frankfurt is able to win games in the playoffs with the rebounding problems. It can be certain that, if captain Pascal Roller and American Chris Williams have good performances and the rebounding and defense are above average, the OPEL SKYLINERS will depart any arena with a victory.
The game on Saturday will be a real test for Frankfurt and give them an early indication of where they stand, so close to the playoffs approaching. A win would most likely give the right push the team needs for the playoffs, while a loss could severly hurt the team mentally. Finnish forward Jukka Matinen says that not only rebounding is the key to winning any game. "The defense has to be strong. The offense can be up and down, but the defense needs to always be flawless for success." Guard Ibrahim Diarra adds that he has only had positive experiences with good defense and it can be a sparkplug for the offense. "If we are able to play strong team defense from the start, then we can win. Usually, when we do this, we can beat teams by twenty points and it also starts to get our offense going." The OPEL SKYLINERS know how to win Basketball games. It is just a matter of being focused. Frankfurt will need to show that they want to keep their championship team status alive by showing Bonn that their play last season, as well as their win in Bonn in January, was no fluke.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
