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The OPEL SKYLINERS reach the TOP FOUR

The OPEL SKYLINERS knew this would not be an easy game, as Paderborn was able to fight its way into overtime. Frankfurt was able to stay calm and withstand the pressure and win the overtime period 17 to 7, the game 99 to 89. "We are a very experienced team and have been in these close situations before. I think our talent level helped us overcome Paderborn in overtime and they were very tired at the end. They had to use their primary players for most of the game", expressed a very relieved assistant coach Simon Cote.

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The OPEL SKYLINERS were led again by its usual suspects American Chris Williams, who scored 29 points and grabbed 13 rebounds and captain Pascal Roller, who knocked in 20 points. Chris Williams continues to demonstrate why he will be one of the MVP candidates at the end of season with his 17th double double of the season. The dynamic duo of Williams and Roller was supported well by Spyro Panteliadis, who scored 14 points. Jukka Matinen showed he has recovered well from his injury by adding 14 points and American Kavossy Franklin chipped in with 12 points.

It was no surprise for Frankfurt that the Maspernarena whould be a nightmare presence with the soldout crowd of 2,600 people cheering for Paderborn. "It was their game of the year. The crowd acted as if it was a world championship game. It was a grerat atmosphere", emphasized Simon Cote. Coach Didin had stressed that his team would have to play very aggressively early against this strong home team. Surprisingly, both teams started nervous, but Paderborn seemed to get the better start and had a 12 to 7 lead. Even though Chris Williams and Kavossy Franklin were playing electrified in the first half, Frankfurt had only a slim lead of 36 to 33 at half time.

Schröno Paderborn was led by its star, American guard from Virginia, Tim Black, who scored 28 points and improved his resume a tick more for the BBL. "Tim Black is small, but very quick. He is a very talented player, who understands the game well and who could play for a BBL team next season", said assistant coach Simon Cote. German center Marius Nolte also had an excellent game, recording a double double with 21 points and knocking down 11 rebounds. The other American from Ohio, Steve Esterkamp added 18 points. A statistic that surely helped Paderborn improve their point total were the 15 turnovers by the OPEL SKYLINERS. At halftime, they had already recorded 11 turnovers, five more than what they had against the Artland Dragons. Simon Cote analyzed that the high turnover ratio was not the only reason why Paderborn was able to take the OPEL SKYLINERS into overtime. "Black and Esterkamp are great players. They made some big shots and their big men did a good job getting offensive rebounds and getting putbacks."

This game was the game of the year for Schröno Paderborn. They definitely did not play like a second division team, but closer to a BBL team. The defense of Frankfurt seemed unstable throughout the game and the rebounding was also a bit weak. The OPEL SKYLINERS managed to grab only 43 rebounds, whereas Paderborn picked up 40 rebounds. Simon Cote stressed that the center play is still not performing the way they should. "We gave up a lot of offensive rebounds. Bernd Kruel had early foul problems and Malick Badiane missed some easy shots and did not dominate the boards. Every player has his own deficiencies and they simply need to be worked on and improved."

The TOP FOUR will be the weekend of May 7/8 and the OPEL SKYLINERS will find out who their opponent is on April 7, when the pairings are decided at the BBL Center in Cologne. In the semi finals, Frankfurt will have to beat a top BBL team, another good test for their playoff prepartions.

The next opponent of the OPEL SKYLINERS will be EWE Baskets Oldenburg on Sunday April 10 at 19:30 live on Premiere. The excitement of the BBL does not stop. Frankfurt will be looking to continue their two game winning streak and their hopes for homecourt advantage for the first round.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS

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