Swedish guard Ibrahim Diarra thought the loss was not due to bad preparation. "We were prepared for this game, had arrived a day early. I believe we had a small mental collapse and maybe we thought that this game would not be difficult to win."
Braunschweig started really strong and the OPEL SKYLINERS did not come out of the gates playing well. Frankfurt was behind 14 to 24 after the first quarter. Frankfurt´s key players Chris Williams and Captain Pascal Roller had a combined three points. The team also registered five turnovers out of a total 19 turnovers made in the game. "They had a great start and were always a step ahead of us. We had a terrible start. It becomes really difficult to get into the game after the opponent starts so well. We tried to come back in the fourth quarter, but they simply outplayed us. I have to give them a lot of credit. They played a great game", expressed a respectful Jukka Matinen.
Surprisingly, the OPEL SKYLINERS were not led by Captain Pascal Roller or Chris Williams, but by American Kavossy Franklin, who continues to demonstrate why his transfer to Frankfurt has been so valuable. He scored 20 points, shooting seven for thirteen from the field and sinking six three pointers. Greek guard Spyro Panteliadis had another strong game, scoring a season high 19 points. Chris Williams scored only 11 points, but had nine rebounds. Captain Pascal Roller had a tough day, scoring only eight points, going three for eight from the floor. "A top player like a Chris Williams can´t always have a good game. These type of losses happen in team sports. We did not have the right energy and aggression to win. We have to return as a team and win the last two games", said Ibrahim Diarra.
BS Energy Braunschweig was led by American Adam Hall, who led all scorers with 26 points and controlled the boards with ten rebounds.Slovenian forward Zejlko Zagorac had a great game, scoring 24 points and was able to help give his team the big lead in the first quarter by making 11 points. Furthermore, Braunschweig was sparked by American Pete Lisicky, who contributed 14 points and ex-Lakers NBA champion John Celestand chipped in with 12 points. Braunschweig played a great game but according to Jukka Matinen, Frankfurt was not able to stop them when they needed to. "The problem was simply that we did not play good team defense. They penetrated very well and our rotations were often late."
Once again the OPEL SKYLINERS could not control the play under the basket. Braunschweig´s Adam Hall grabbed ten rebounds and made life for Frankfurt´s centers difficult. Bernd Kruel and Malick Badiane scored a combined seven points and five rebounds. A bright spot was the continued all around inspired play by Jukka Matinen, who scored nine points and hauled down seven rebounds. "Our centers did not play a lot of minutes, so it is only natural that other players have to set up under the basket. I did not do anything special to achieve seven rebounds. I have been trying to focus further on getting more rebounds", explained Jukka Matinen.
The next enormous hurdle for the OPEL SKYLINERS will be at home against the Telekom Baskets Bonn on Saturday April 23 at 18:30 live on Premiere. This looms to be the most important game of the season, because the homecourt advantage will be at stake and Bonn is at position #8 and still wants to slip into the playoffs. It is certain though that Frankfurt will need to give a much better effort than against Braunschweig. Frankfurt will have a big plus, that they will have the hometown fans behind them. "The game against Bonn will be a dogfight", said an excited Ibrahim Diarra. This will be an important test for the OPEL SKYLINERS, because two weeks later, Frankfurt will meet Bonn in the Top Four.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
