On Matchday 7 of the EuroCup, the Frankfurt Skyliners suffered a heavy home defeat against Maxima Roma. One former star in particular stood out for the visitors from the Italian capital.
The Frankfurt Skyliners suffered a heavy home defeat in the EuroCup. Against Maxima Roma, they ultimately struggled at both ends of the court, but particularly in defence.
The match was evenly balanced at the start, however. Although the Skyliners scored their first points early on through Till Pape (18 points, 7/9 FG, 7 rebounds), they subsequently struggled in attack. From the middle of the first quarter, the visitors pulled away with a 19–5 run led by Miro Bilan (17 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists). The 37-year-old Croatian scored seven points in the first quarter, giving the Romans a 14-point lead (14–28) after ten minutes. Rome’s top scorer, Xavier Moon (19 points, 7/12 FG, 5 rebounds, 5 assists), also played his part in the early lead.
In the second quarter, too, it took Frankfurt a while to sink their first field goal. Meanwhile, Mirza Alibegovic (15 points) extended the Italians’ lead to 20 points for the first time with a three-pointer. After almost eight minutes without a Frankfurt field goal, it was Thomas Klepeisz (8 points) who hit a three-pointer, sending a sign of life from his team’s offence. As in the first quarter, however, the home side failed to control the opposition’s offensive rebounds. It was then a 9–0 run, in which top scorer Judah Mintz (23 points, 5/9 FG) played a key role, that reduced Frankfurt’s deficit. Nevertheless, they went into the break trailing by 23 points (41–64).
Although the Skyliners started the third quarter with a 9–2 run, Roma continued to find answers. Thanks to former NBA player Aaron Holiday (16 points, 3/5 from three-point range), the visitors extended their lead back to more than 20 points. The Italians were outstanding from three-point range throughout the match (48 per cent), meaning they had already racked up 90 points by the end of the third quarter.
In the final quarter, the home side were unable to reduce the deficit. As a result, they ultimately suffered a clear home defeat against a strong opponent. For the Romans, John Brown (14 points) and Giovanni Veronesi (12 points, 4/9 three-pointers) also scored in double figures. For Frankfurt, alongside Mintz and Pape, Isaiah Swope (11 points) also reached double figures.
Frankfurt have two home games coming up next week. They will host the Gladiators Trier as early as Sunday (3.00 pm). Then, on Wednesday (7.30 pm), Umana Reyer Venice, featuring Louis Olinde, will be the Skyliners’ guests.