"It was basically the little things like not executing down the strech, missing free throws and turnovers that led to us losing this game", commented playmaker Michael Hakim Jordan. "We made a few more shots down the stretch, made some stops, but we simply had the momentum and whoever has the momentum usually will win", said Ibrahim Diarra.
The game was very close, as the statistics show. After the first quarter, the Artland Dragons had a slim lead 22 to 19 and at halftime it was 37 to 37. In the third quarter, Quakenbrück had the lead at times, but then finally Frankfurt broke the game open for a little while, getting a 64 to 54 lead. However, before the OPEL SKYLINERS could really enjoy their lead, the Artland Dragons had cut the lead to 67 to 65. The main reason for this quick comeback was the hot shooting of Croatian forward Marco Bulic, who scored six three-pointers and finished with 27 points. "Bulic is a great shooter and gets open looks often. He is usually lurking in the shadows, but he always makes his shots. We will need to focus more on stopping him the rest of the way", described Ibrahim Diarra.
In the closing stage of the game, the excitement grew intensively as Frankfurt only led by two points. But then Ben Ebong missed two crucial free throws and Bulic missed a shot. Then Spyro Panteliadis secured the victory with a layup. American Guard Ben Bailey said that Artland could of won this game. "We were in this game to the end, but we missed so many free throws. If he had hit more, than the outcome of the game could of been different." A big factor were the missed free throws, as the Atland Dragons shot a horrible 43% 9/21 from the free throw line. The OPEL SKYLINERS shot 72% from the free throw line going 18/25.
The OPEL SKYLINERS were led by captain Pascal Roller, who scored 16 points, dishing out six assists and grabbing five rebounds. The team was well balanced in scoring. "It was a really good effort by us today. We made mistakes, but the foundation to winning is effort and team work and that was present today", expressed assistant coach Simon Cote. American Chris Williams scored only 15 points, but did the other necessary things like grabbing 11 rebounds, securing a double double, getting six assists and blocking two shots and grabbing two steals. It seemed like Williams was a third center in this game. ?My role has always been to help under the basket, but there is more emphasis now because it´s the playoffs?, said Chris Williams. Jukka Matinen had a superb game, scoring 14 points, including four three-pointers. Spyro Panteliadis had his usual good game from the bench, scoring 11 points.
The Artland Dragons were led by their leading scorer Marco Bulic, who scored 27 points, including six three-pointers. American Ben Ebong scored 18 points and hauled down 10 rebounds. His other mate under the basket, American Darius Hall chipped in with 12 points and he also grabbed 10 rebounds. Michael Hakim Jordan had a disappointing game, scoring only five points. The Artland Dragons had only three players in double figures scoring and American John McNeil said it had a lot to do with the Frankfurt defense. "We simply could not execute on offensive as well, because they really turned up the pressure on defense."
Malick Badiane had a fine game, scoring 13 points, but only getting four rebounds. Bernd Kruel had limited playing time, but scored four points. The two big Artland guys Ebong and Hall dominated the game under the basket. "They rebounded better and they have good inside guys. We will just have to keep battling Ebong and Hall and keep them off the block in the next games", said assistant coach Simon Cote. Center Bernd Kruel is confident that the inside game will improve in the next games. "We can block out Ebong and Hall with a few more bodies. In general, with Badiane and Williams, we have better movement."
American Tyrone Ellis continues to struggle on his comeback from injury. Ellis scored only two points going 1/9 from the field. He is feeling good, but he is confident that his scoring will come with time. "I just have to start all over from the drawing board. I have to go back into the gym and shoot 500 baskets a day. But most important is that we won, even if I did not shoot well." Ellis took a few rushed shots, but he will take a different appraoch in the next game. "I am going to attack the rim more and get fouled more, so I can get more easy baskets."
The OPEL SKYLINERS have a comfortable 1 to 0 lead in the best of five series, but they will next play in the hostile environment of the Artland Dragons. Both teams are very confident that they can defeat the other. "We are confident to beat anyone, but we are playing the defending champions. But if we play hard, then we have a good chance to beat them", said John McNeil. The Artland Dragons have nothing to lose, so they will have a slight advantage playing in their own arena. Frankfurt is the defending champion and wants to end this series as quickly as possible. "I think we have an advantage, since we have many players, who are used to the long grind in the playoffs, since we went through three long five game series in the playoffs last year", described center Bernd Kruel. This was the third game in a row that Frankfurt has won against Quakenbrück. However, Frankfurt also had beaten the Telekom Baskets Bonn three games in a row until they lost a heartbreaker in the semi finals of the Top Four. We can only hope that statistic is not a bad omen. Game two will be in Quakenbrück, but the OPEL SKYLINERS have more playoff experience than the Artland Dragons and that should carry over into winning game two and the series.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
