This is Germany’s way to the final

Top opponents threatened earlier than expected

Basketball European Championship: This is Germany’s way to the final

Five games are already behind Germany. Now three more victories are missing to make the dream of the European Championship final come true.

The German basketball players around Franz Wagner remained humble even after the clear 91: 61 victory against Finland in the group finals. “We just have to forget the games and go in with our rhythm,” said Germany’s best thrower Franz Wagner on Wednesday. His gaze? Directed towards the round of 16.

After the DBB team completed the preliminary round of the Siegen Basketball European Championship with five brilliant victories from five games and a total of 164 points, follows the knockout round, in which everything is set to zero-and every mistake could mean that. Captain Dennis Schröder therefore warned: “We had good days in Tampere, but should still stay down to theod, keep looking at us and trying to get better.”

For the first time in history, a selection of the German Basketball Federation (DBB) won all EM group games. On Saturday (from 2:15 p.m. in the T-Online Live ticker) it will be serious after a break, in the round of 16 in Riga (Latvia) against outsider Portugal. T-online gives an overview of who could go into the next round when moving into.

Portugal, which the K.-O. round surprisingly reached after a 68:65 victory against Estonia, is only considered a passage station for the German team. In the quarter-finals, the first top nation can come together.

European champion Spain, however, has to go home after the preliminary round. In Limassol/Cyprus against the Greeks listed by NBA superstar Giannis Antetocounmpo with 86:90 (35:50) in the fifth group game. Antetocounmpo, which had recently been missing with knee problems, protruded with 25 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

It is now also clear that the German team could meet superstar Luka Dončić in a possible quarter -finals. Should the world champion in Riga take the supposedly low hurdle Portugal, it would work against the winner of the round of 16 between Italy and Dončić’s Slovenes.

Should Germany also prevail in the quarter -finals, the duel, which was considered a dream finale, might take place earlier than expected.

Serbia surprisingly lost 90:95 against Turkey on Wednesday evening and only finished second in Group A. Already in the semifinals, Dennis Schröder and Co. could threaten a duel with Jokić and ex-national coach Svetislav Pešić. Germany and Serbia are considered the strongest teams in the tournament.

After all: Serbia’s defeat in the group finals would go out of the way of Turkey around Houston star Alperen Şengün until the final.