The German basketball women have reached the knockout round at the 3×3 World Cup in Vienna. An unchallenged 18:11 against Poland was followed by the selection of the German Basketball Association (DBB) on Friday with a surprising 21:19 against Australia. It was the first defeat for the “Gangurrus” after 15 wins in a row across all competitions.
Despite three wins from four games, Sonja Greinacher’s team, third in the world rankings, finished second in Group B due to a three-way comparison with Japan and Australia and missed the direct jump to the quarter-finals. Despite the defeat, Australia secured it.
The 1.90 m tall Greinacher, who is also part of the “classic” national team alongside Svenja Brunckhorst, became the outstanding player against Australia and led the DBB women to a thriller victory with 14 points and eight rebounds.
For the German women, the round of 16 against the Czech Republic (1.25 p.m.) is scheduled for Saturday evening, and China would be waiting in a possible quarter-final on Saturday evening. The German men, who were last in the group, had already missed making it into the knockout stages on Thursday.