One of the great aspects of professional sports is the rivalry among teams. In the NBA you once had the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers and in Professional Baseball, most likely the most famous one of all between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, for countless years. The BBL might not boast such dramatic rivalries but there is a local rivalry brewing between one of the original Bundesliga clubs, Gießen 46ers, and the OPEL SKYLINERS. There always seems to be a lot of excitement and emotion when these two clubs face off against one another.
This Sunday, the Gießen 46ers will be looking to upset the OPEL SKYLINERS in the Ballsporthalle. Earlier this season, the Gießen 46ers were beaten by Frankfurt in their building 77 to 70. This game will not be one to take lightly, since the Gießen 46ers are creeping up on the OPEL SKYLINERS in the standings at 8th place. The team seems to have taken a rapid turn from mediocre last year to a highly respectable Playoff candidate this season. "This will be a very physical and emotional game for us. We will be prepared to face a good team. They play together very well and that is their strength", says a confident captain Pascal Roller about their upcoming task against the 46ers on Sunday.
The 46ers had a busy off-season, finding new players that could help improve the team. The duo of Slovenian Anton Gavel and former Alba Berlin-player Heiko Schaffartzik has brought a lot of organization into the 46ers offense. American Louis Campbell who is a BBL debutant this year, after toiling in the second league in Paderborn last year, has played far above exspectations by averaging 13,9 points per game. And if that wasn´t enough, the OPEL SKYLINERS still need to find a way to defend against American leading scorer Chuck Eidson who is averaging 17,9 points per game and had his first Allstar appearance this year.
"We really have to keep an eye on Chuck Eidson. He is the go-to guy and he is such an unselfish player", says guard Pascal Roller. The success of the 46ers lies a lot in the hands of successful coach Stefan Koch who won the German Cup with Frankfurt in the 1999-2000 season.
The season is slowly winding down and the Opel OPEL SKYLINERS need to be thinking about the Playoffs. Defending their BBL title is the goal, but their top priority is to reach a high playoff spot. "This game is really important.We need to keep in touch with places 1 and 2. We need to win the next four or five games, and hope that some from the top lose some games", says team leader Pascal Roller. Roller adds that the key to success so far this season has not only been having a focused team, "but the motivating words from coach Didin have made us successful."
The game on Sunday will be a special one for forward Alex King, who will be celebrating his 20th birthday. A victory over the Gießen 46ers could make for a very sweet birthday party after the game. The Ballsporthalle will open its doors at 9.15, as the final of the "Youth Training for Olympia" will take place from 10 am to 12.45.
