09/10 BBL season

[Gruebler]

In the 5th game of the semis, Frankfurt Skyliners had an overtime victory against Eisbären Bremerhaven 56:52 (51:51). It was a very intense and extremely low scoring game, purely living by it's suspense and roughness. Just a single field goal in the overtime.

Topscorers: Campbell (20) for Bremerhaven and Allen (15) for Frankfurt.

The finals now will be Bamberg vs. Frankfurt. First game in Bamberg is Sunday at 7:30pm (TV: sport1).

[Gruebler]

Frankfurt stole the first game in Bamberg 65:63 as Aubrey Reese and Quantez Robertson made some big points. Bamberg started really well, Casey Jacobsen and Peja Suput scoring at will. But Frankfurt won the second quarter and Bamberg was not able to maintain the lead. Some highlights are available on sport1.de.

[Gruebler]

Brose Baskets won game 5 of the BEKO BBL finals 72:70 and the German championship. Finals MVP Casey Jacobsen, great game by draft prospect Tibor Pleiss who made very important points in the last minutes and the final free throw.

[goga78]

What a comeback (actually, two comebacks) by the Skyliners and what a tense final. Frankfurt's players missed four out of seven FTs in the last minute or so. The heartbreaking one came by the best man on court, Pascal Roller, who is a dead-eye FT shooter. He went to the line with six ticks left and Bamberg leading by two. He swished the first one but was kinda short on the second one. No full extension, no basket. What a drama! Especially for a Skyliners fan like me But nobody thought about the Skys going so far. Playoffs weren't necessarily expected but when Gordon Herbert came back, he changed the who situation. Players came out of doghouse, they have been in with Didin. They got more trust and delivered. But what a story of this season... After a great comeback, Frankfurt loses the Cup final to Bamberg by one. After a great comeback, Frankfurt loses game 5 of the finals to Bamberg by two. The teams were #5 and #7, respectively, after the regular season.

One remark to this game... I thought, Herbert ought to play more with Allen as C and Doliboah as PF, when Pleiss went out with foul trouble. Labovic was a non-factor in the whole series, while Jenkins had too many fumblings. The Skyliners needed to play quick with five offensively potent players. When the did play with this lineup, they've had great success.

Congratulations to Bamberg but also huge kudos to the Skyliners who proved to have the biggest balls of iron in the whole league. They ousted Alba Berlin in the first round (no home court advantage) and snatched one game away in Berlin. They beat Bremerhaven in OT of game 5 on the road (no homecourt advantage). They came on the brink of winning the championship on the road in Bamberg no homecourt advantage), after stealing game one in Bamberg at the buzzer. They've lost game 3 by 45 points in a total demolition game. They came back strong at home, by tying the series and if it wouldn't be for so many missed FTs at the end of the game... This awesome squad had it in their hands but unfortunately came up just short.

Hopefully, this big success by the Skyliners will draw more attention by possible sponsors and the team can can its financial situation straight. They simply belong to the top of the league.

Now, it'll be tough to put up a squad for the net season for them. Too many mandatory German players and I see only two dead-sure candidates. Roller and bench warmer Franke. Nolte is surely unhappy with his situation and will leave. De Mello... unsure. He could stay. Moyer is probably gone. Labovic is gone but he was just loaned. Aubrey Reese will probably look for a job somewhere else. McKinney's contract might not get renewed. The team needs an SG who can create for himself and is not afraid to dribble the ball. Quantez Robertson should probably stay as he will get the international exposure he could hope for. Jenkins will probably stay, same for Allen. Doliboah? If he is unhappy with his decreased role, he's gone. I see a tough and busy summer for the Skyliners but I believe that coach Herbert will be able to lure a couple of quality players to Frankfurt.