After the disappointing weekend in the Top Four, the OPEL SKYLINERS need to forget this weekend as quickly as possible and look forward to the Playoffs. The play of Frankfurt can only get better, since their performance against Ludwigsburg has to be rated as one of the worst games this season. The Artland Dragons are the opponents of Frankfurt in the best of five series that starts on Sunday May 15th at 15.00 in the Ballsporthalle in Höchst. Even though the OPEL SKYLINERS are defending BBL champions, captain Pascal Roller advises that thinking about the final is not smart now. "I don´t want to talk about defending our title now. We have to think about winning one game at a time and just being very focused."
Frankfurt can be content that they have the favorite role in this series. The OPEL SKYLINERS were able to win both games this season. Frankfurt beat Quakenbrück on the road 88 to 74 and at home 81 to 72. "Artland is a team that can be dangerous from the outside as well as under the basket. We beat them twice this year, but that means nothing", warned captain Pascal Roller. American Tyrone Ellis says that the Artland Dragons are a team that can dominate at any position. "They have many strong players. They play well together and will be hard to beat. Everybody thinks Jordan is the star, but for me, he is just an average player."
The Artland Dragons are well stocked at all positions with players that can score. The team is led by American Michael Hakim Jordan, who can decide the outcome of a game at any time. Jordan has become the playmaker now and his scoring percentage has dipped a bit. The leading scorer is Croation national player Marco Bulic, who averaged 19.4 points per game and finished the season fourth in scoring. If that was not enough, Quakenbrück can rely on Ben Ebong who averaged 7.3 rebounds this season and American center Darius Hall, who averaged 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. These are players that Frankfurt will need to be aware of.
It is no secret, that the OPEL SKYLINERS have had a center problem after the loss of Mario Kasun to the Orlando Magic and Robert Maras to Spain. However, an injury to Malick Badiane some months ago also left a scar on the prodcution of the centers. Frankfurt will need to find a way to get out of their funk and have some successful games under the basket. The Artland Dragons have Ben Ebong and Darius Hall, who are more than capable rebounders. "We have to try to get our big men more involved and let them dominate", expressed forward Ibrahim Diarra. It would be like an early Christnmas present for all fans, if centers Bernd Kruel (5.1 points, 3.7 rebounds) and Malick Badiane (4.5 points, 4.0 rebounds) could explode in the playoffs and finally show what kind of talent they really have.
Frankfurt will be led by top scorer American Chris Williams (20 points, 10 rebounds per game) and captain Pascal Roller (14.8 points, 4.1 assists per game), but the question remains what other players will step up and give support. American Tyrone Ellis is healthy, but will he get the nod over American Kavossy Franklin, who had strong games before the Top Four weekend? The strong play of Spyro Panteliadis off the bench and the three point success of Jukka Matinen would be much appreciated. Coach Murat Didin stresses that the team needs to want to win together. "The whole team needs to be concentrated and needs to work hard. We are playing basketball and that is a team sport. Either we win as a team or we lose as individuals."
This will be a very interesting opening round series. The Artland Dragons will be very motivated to kick the champions OPEL SKYLINERS off the court and Frankfurt will need to rebound from their diastrous weekend at the Top Four. American Tyrone Ellis senses the importance of this series with Quakenbrück. "We really have to want to win. We have to dig deep within ourselves. We are vulnerable, but if we play with consistency, then we can win. If we don´t, then we are very vulnerable." Swedish forward Ibrahim Diarra tries to see this whole experience as positive as possible. "Last year we lost in the cup final but regrouped and won the championship. This year it will be difficult, but possible to win the championship." Now it is really time, that the OPEL SKYLINERS come out of the closet and demonstrate why they were champions in 2004.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
