DThe sporting situation should be a warning to Lukas Wank. His club, the Fraport Skyliners, are fourth from bottom in the basketball league – with only two points more than the tail light Oldenburg, to which the Frankfurt team lost 103:110 in the ball sports hall on Wednesday. A huge disappointment. But national player Wank said afterwards in great composure: “We don’t feel like we’re at the bottom of the table.” And this perspective doesn’t make the situation any better, it makes it even more dangerous for the Hessians.
Do they underestimate the demanding task they have to master in the remaining 16 games of the season? The duel with the surprise last, who has often been one of the top clubs in recent seasons, showed that the Skyliners have to gain significantly in the relegation battle. They have to be more consistent when defending – and they do well to become more constant and variable in their game. There is much to do.
“No one is nervous with us,” said Wank, looking at his teammates despite three defeats in a row. The club management can not be disturbed. “It’s not like we’re sinking into thoughts of relegation. We aspire to be higher in the table.” In this respect, the recent failure is a pity when it comes to keeping up, Yannick Binas told the FAZ on Thursday. The managing director is “not seriously worried”. But he knows “that we have to win games again”. As fast as possible. Only the two upcoming opponents are called Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin.
Ocampo is now challenged
In addition, defender Brancou Badio hit his head on the ground against Oldenburg in the third quarter and was eliminated. Add to that the back problems of playmaker Will Cherry and winger Rasheed Moore. After the Alba game next Tuesday, the Skyliners will have a break from February 16th to March 5th. If they wanted to change coaches, that would be the right time. But it shouldn’t come to that.
“We will definitely go into March with Diego Ocampo,” announced Binas. That’s an announcement. “We trust Diego. We have a long-term plan for us as a club with him as coach.” Oldenburg and penultimate Würzburg, on the other hand, had swapped coaches. Ingo Freyer now managed the second win in three games with Oldenburg, and Würzburg also recently won against Bamberg. But Ocampo is doing a “good job” in Frankfurt, “unfortunately that’s not yet visible in the form of victories,” said Marco Völler, the sports manager.
The development of the young players is particularly important to the Skyliners, and this is what the Spanish head coach Ocampo is measured against. And the 19-year-old defender Len Schoormann (14 points against Oldenburg) is on the right track. However, with every further failure, it becomes more difficult for the talents to stay on course. “Because the pressure to produce results inhibits the development of players,” explains Binas.
So Ocampo is now challenged to give his team the right solutions. “Above all, we have to find our style and bring it to the floor,” demands Binas. “We are dissatisfied that we couldn’t prevent Oldenburg from pushing through his style, that’s the annoying thing.” Frankfurt couldn’t stop the speed basketball of Lower Saxony. The last time that many points were scored in the ball sports hall was on December 16, 2012 in a 102:107 against Hagen – the Westphalians were coached by Freyer at the time. This time the Oldenburgers managed 110 points with him as head coach. “We don’t have to sugarcoat it: that was a major setback,” said Völler. The Skyliners are not out of touch with reality. Nevertheless, they remain confident: “I believe in my team and our coach.”
