Dhe German basketball players easily made it into the quarterfinals at the European Championships and can continue to dream of their first medal in 17 years. After the exciting preliminary round in Cologne, the team around captain Dennis Schröder was enough on Saturday evening in Berlin to beat outsiders Montenegro 85:79 (48:24) in the round of 16.
In the quarter-finals on Tuesday it should be much more difficult for the team of national coach Gordon Herbert. Then Greece with NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo is very likely waiting for the German selection. The Greeks meet the Czech Republic in the round of 16 on Sunday. Whether Franz Wagner can be there is uncertain: The NBA professional twisted his right ankle, had to leave the field and was unable to continue playing. National coach Gordon Herbert spoke of a “bad sprain” at Magentasport. The next few days would show how things would continue.
Schröder best German pitcher
After a good first half and a weak second half, he summed it up: “It was a game with two different games. But we made it.” Schröder said: “We didn’t do a good job in the second half. In the end, we left the pitch as winners.”
Against Montenegro, Schröder was the best German thrower with 22 points. Herbert had to do without Nick Weiler-Babb. The Bayern Munich professional, who was only naturalized shortly before the European Championship, was absent due to a shoulder injury. However, those responsible hope that Weiler-Babb will be available again in the quarter-finals.
Andreas Obst replaced Weiler-Babb in the starting line-up of the German team, which got off to a perfect start. Led by Schröder, the hosts started very concentrated and quickly pulled away to 11:2 with some nice moves. Although the very physically playing Montenegrins then closed the gap to 10:11, a strong intermediate sprint gave Germany a nine-point lead after the first quarter.
The German team thus also fulfilled the expectations of German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki, who watched the match from the stands in the Mercedes Benz Arena, which was not completely filled with 12,938 spectators. “I hope that we can live up to our role as favorites today. I hope that the boys start the game well and then we should win the game today,” Nowitzki said before the game at Magentasport.
And Schröder and Co. made sure that Nowitzki didn’t have to tremble for long until the break. Also because the captain showed his best performance of the tournament so far, Germany pulled away to 24 points by half-time. After the change of sides, the concentration of the Germans dropped significantly, so that Montenegro came closer and closer. In the final quarter, the clear outsider suddenly even reduced the lead to five points (64:69). But despite the weak second half, victory was no longer in real danger.
Before Germany, defending champion Slovenia and Olympic bronze medalist France had already reached the quarter-finals. Even without a gala by superstar Luka Doncic, the Slovenians prevailed against outsiders Belgium with 88:72 (44:41). Unlike last time, Doncic played in the preliminary round against Germany and France rather unspectacularly this time, but was still the best thrower with 35 points. Co-favorite France had much more trouble. The Olympic bronze medalist needed extra time in his round of 16 to defeat Turkey 87:86 (77:77, 43:35).
