"We did many things wrong today. We will have to watch video, analyze our mistakes and correct them in game two", said manager Gunnar Wöbke. GHP Bamberg started strong, taking a 7 to 2 lead. The first quarter could of been called the Demond Mallet show, because he scored 14 of the 28 Bamberg points. Once Mallet gets hot, it is difficult to stop him. He finished as the top scorer with 31 points, including six three- pointers and five assists.
"Mallet made a lot of open shots. We did not do a good job on our screens and our talking. Our defense did not force him to shoot tough shots?" analyzed assistant coach Simon Cote. The second quarter was even at 18 to 18 and at halftime, GHP Bamberg had a 46 to 38 lead.
Not only did the sizzling shooting clinic of Demond Mallet hurt the OPEL SKYLINERS, but they always seemed to have an answer to Frankfurts´ mini comebacks. After the quick start by GHP Bamberg, it was just difficult for Frankfurt to comeback. "After the early lead, they played with so much confidence. We lost a lot of energy trying to comeback. We also played with little confidence", described captain Pascal Roller. GHP Bamberg won the third quarter 24 to 22 with the help of 71% shooting percentage from the field. GHP Bamberg finished the game shooting 55%. The OPEL SKYLINERS cut the lead to five points in the fourth quarter with the help of three Tyrone Ellis three-pointers. But it wasn´t enough, as GHP Bamberg sealed the victory at the end with timely baskets by Koko Archibong and Chris Ensminger.
A big surprise for GHP Bamberg was the great game by Koko Archibong. He scored 19 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out five assists. American center Chris Ensminger had his typical routine game finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds. 41 yearold semi-retired Derrick Taylor scored eight points and had three steals. Assistant coach Simon Cote knows on what players the Frankfurt defense needs to focus on in game two. "We know that Chris Ensminger and Demond Mallet are the go-to guys. We will have to do a better job shutting them down. We have to force guys like Uvis Helmanis and Mike Nahar to take the shots." Mike Nahar had seven points and Uvis Helmanis had four points and five rebounds.
It was a difficult day at the office for the OPEL SKYLINERS, shooting only 47% from the field. American Tyrone Ellis led the team with 18 points, including six three-pointers. Captain Pascal Roller had 16 points and five rebounds. American Chris Williams registered his 23 double double, scoring 12 points (4/13 from the field), grabbed eight rebounds and had 11 assists, but had a difficult time with the GHP Bamberg defense. Center Malick Badiane had a fine game, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds. Coach Murat Didin surprised many by starting youngster Miroslav Todic. "We wanted to start aggressive and that was the reason for Todic coming in. Coach Didin likes to mix up the lineups to keep the opponent offguard."
Frankfurt lost the rebounding fight 33 to 31. All in all, the effort was not enough, because there was not enough output from all the players on offense and defense. "The main factor today was that we did not play together as a team. We need to play hard and match their physicalness in the next games", warned Simon Cote.
The OPEL SKYLINERS are down 1 to 0, but no one should be sending out the alarm warnings just yet about not repeating as champions in 2005. "We have come a long way. We are three games away from winning the title. We can´t get to emotional. We have no reason to get down. We have to focus on winning", said Simon Cote. The OPEL SKYLINERS need to take care of business on their home court in game two. "We will play differently on Thursday. We have to play better defense, give up less points and find our rhythm offensively", explained Pascal Roller. The OPEL SKYLINERS will need to give a top notch performance in game two, so they can return to Bamberg in Game three and steal a game there.Game two is on Thursday June 16th at 19:15 in the Ballsporthalle in Höchst.
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber reporting for the OPEL SKYLINERS
