It was a game that both teams needed to win and it was a good test for the game in two weeks against Bonn in the semi finals of the Top Four. "I want to congratulate Frankfurt on a great performance. We controlled the second quarter, but let up in the second half. We could not respond and they scored easy baskets. They deserved to win", said the disappointed Bonn playmaker Branko Milisavljevic.
The OPEL SKYLINERS were led by Alabama native Chris Williams, who led all scorers with 20 points and six rebounds. He once again had a great supporting cast of players who made the necessary points throughout the game. Captain Pascal Roller once again showed his excellent playmaking skills and scored 16 points and Houston native Kavossy Franklin continued to show his fine play, scoring 16 points. Forward Jukka Matinen continued to present his superb play coming from the bench, contributing 11 points and three three-pointers. Defense specialist Ibrahim Diarra explains that winning is a lot easier when the scoring comes from so many different players. "We played together today and that is what gets our offense started. When we play as a team, we can always win. I hope we can finally realize this now and continue to play like this in the next games."
The OPEL SKYLINERS started really strong and one could sense a sort of fire burning within the Frankfurt engine. Frankfurt dominated early, leading 17 to 5 and captain Pascal Roller sunk two three-pointers in that span. However, the fire was weakened for a bit in the second quarter, as Bonn retaliated and played strong and went into half time leading 45 to 40. In the second quarter, Bonn´s leading scorer Branko Milisavljevic scored 12 points and Altron "Dr. Dunk" Jackson scored 11 points in that span. "Bonn got a lot of second shots on offensive rebounds and that was one of the reasons for our lapse", analysed American Chris Williams. "We were not able to control their wing players in the second quarter, but in the second half we changed our defense system and were able to control them", explained captain Pascal Roller.
The second half was dominated by the OPEL SKYLINERS and Bonn seemed to be paralysed not mustering any real successful offense. Assistant coach Simon Cote described why Bonn was so lackluster in the second half: "At times, Bonn did not play as a team. Nadjfeji did not play well and the team missed easy shots, had a lot of turnovers and did not visit the foul line enough." The defense of the OPEL SKYLINERS was able to silence the Bonn shooters in the second half. "We controlled the offensive speed of Bonn and limited their fast breaks by playing good defense and controlling the rebounds", expressed Pascal Roller. Frankfurt was able to hold a team under 70 points for the 11th time this season.
Bonn was led by American Altron Jackson with 19 points. Center Aleksandar Djuric showed a respectable performance under the basket, making 19 points. But it was all not enough, as Bonn could not find a way to crack Frankfurt´s defense. Bonn was very dissapointed after the game. "They dominated us in the third quarter, making easy shots and we could not stop them neither from inside nor from outside. They have a good team and play together well. We will see if it is enough to repeat as champions", said Altron Jackson. Playmaker Branko Milisavljevic scored 15 points and often had discusions with the referee about fouls. "Milisavljevic is not the only complainer in the league. There are a lot of players that like to argue calls. I would like to see players stop complaining and just focus on the game of basketball", commented assistant coach Simon Cote.
One half of Frankfurt´s center duo of Bernd Kruel and Malick Badiane showed his best game of the season. Malick Badiane has been struggling lately, but against Bonn was reborn, scoring 12 points, hauling down nine rebounds, getting two steals and one block. Badiane looked like a NBA draftee playing with a lot of confidence under the basket. "Badiane has been working very hard in practice, focusing on tactical things. Today, he focused on his job", said a content Simon Cote after the game. The other center, Bernd Kruel, was not able to play so much, because Miroslav Todic got playing time and there were not many free minutes for Kruel. However, he will surely get his chance in the next games and is always capable of having a big game. Forward Ibrahim Diarra is confident that it is only a matter of time before Badiane will display these type of games on a regular basis. "I try to help Malick mentally as best as I can. He listens to me and I am sure that he realizes how he should play. There was a time when he was not sure of his role but now everything is starting to come together for him."
Frankfurt is back in fourth place and seems to be ready for the Top Four and the start of the playoffs. However, there is one game left to play on Sunday, May 1st in Leverkusen. This game could be a roadblock for the OPEL SKYLINERS if they don´t take them seriously. We can only hope that Frankfurt learned its lesson in Braunschweig. "It will be a tough game against Leverkusen. I have already warned everybody before the Braunschweig game. Leverkusen has nothing to lose, since they will not be in the playoffs. We will need to be focused to win that game", warned Ibrahim Diarra. If the OPEL SKYLINERS can imagine hearing their homecrowd roar as compared to the homecrowd roar of Gießen, then it can be awaited that Frankfurt will do everything possible to win in Leverkusen and have the homecourt advantage secured in the first round of the playoffs.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
