Split
The Hanau White Wings won the derby against the Frankfurt Skyliners Juniors with an impressive 87:69 and maintained their lead in the Pro B basketball division. The top game in Koblenz next Thursday can come.
Hanau – The final chord belonged to the youngster: Tom Arkan grabbed the ball, finished with the final siren from a greater distance and scored with the help of the board to make it 87:69. A litter that does not find its target every day, on an evening when the Hanau White Wings did a lot, if not everything.
It was the eleventh win in eleven games for Marti Zamora’s team, who are simply unstoppable in the 3rd division basketball, Pro B. Even local rivals Fraport Skyliners Juniors did not become the feared stumbling block. On the contrary: The Hanau team confidently defended their lead in the standings and are prepared for the summit meeting in Koblenz next Thursday.
“Chapeau to the team and the coaching staff. We knew it was going to be a difficult task and actually expected a close game. The fact that it became clearer speaks for us. Some promotions are just too good to be true. We ride a wave of success. You’re starting to run out of superlatives,” said team manager Sebastian Köhnert, who was also excited here and there on the live stream microphone.
As expected, the guests had deployed everything the squad had to offer. In Marco Völler (last 23 points against Ehingen) and Felix Hecker, two ex-Hanau players were in the starting lineup. White Wings head coach Zamora relied on Bruno Albrecht, Sebastian Brach, Tim Martinez, Marco Dordevic and Bubba Furlong.
It was also US center Furlong who, after a few seconds, tore the fans in the atmospheric Main-Kinzig-Halle from their seats for the first time with his threesome. The expected intense, emotional derby developed, in which the hosts initially set the exclamation mark. Like the block by Tim Martinez against Felix Hecker or the three-point games (basket plus additional free throw) by Furlong and top scorer Bruno Albrecht to the 24:15 in the meantime. “Bruno showed right away that he had big plans,” emphasizes Köhnert, also with a view to the transformed, wild threesomes in the second quarter. “And Bubba brings in the necessary calm, is not hasty in his actions. He played an outstanding game and is an absolute stroke of luck for us.”
Only in the rebound duel did the hosts slack off at times. So the Skyliners didn’t find their usual rhythm, but had second, third or fourth shot chances. Völler shortened to 22:26. But spectacular actions by Philip Hecker and Albrecht (19 of his 34 points in the first half) and a determined defense screwed the result up to half-time.
In the third quarter, Tim Martinez, who had been inconspicuous until then, also came up trumps and resolutely tanked up on the basket. Otherwise, the hosts found it a little harder in this phase. “The Skyliners turned up the intensity, the game was pretty mixed up, but we never let ourselves be completely unsettled,” said Köhnert. Not even when the guests shortened to 55:66. Threes by Hecker, Albrecht and Martinez made the preliminary decision at 78:64. And then there was the big performance of the young Tom Arkan.
Hanau: Albrecht (34), Martinez (14), Furlong (13), Hecker (12), Urbansky (4), Brach (3), Arkan (3), Kuku (2), Walz (2), Dordevic, Baumgarten
