Gala against the “Greek Freak”, the awaited medal is so close! Thanks to a great performance, the German basketball players around captain Dennis Schröder threw Greece with NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the tournament and are playing for the first precious metal in 17 years at the home European Championship. In Berlin, an enthusiastic national team surprisingly beat the favorites in the quarterfinals with 107:96 (57:61).
“It’s hard to realize what happened. It’s madness. It was unbelievable,” said Andreas Obst at “MagentaSport”.
“We were all there in the second half. We believe in ourselves as a team. Our goal is the medal,” said Daniel Theis on “RTL”. It wasn’t even a problem that Schröder had to go into the dressing room in the closing stages after his second unsportsmanlike foul.
It is already the biggest success since sports icon Dirk Nowitzki said goodbye to the fans at the 2015 European Championships in the capital. In the semi-finals on Friday, the team of national coach Gordon Herbert meets world champions Spain, before bronze or the really big coup is at stake on Sunday. It would be the third EM medal after gold in 1993 and silver in 2005.
Schröder with 26 points German top scorer
In the memorable triumph in front of 14,073 fans in the sold-out arena, Schröder was Germany’s top scorer with 26 points. Antetokounmpo had 31 points – five minutes before the end he had to leave the field after the second unsportsmanlike foul.
The importance of the game was also reflected in the media, RTL reached an agreement at short notice with rights holder MagentaSport, which streams all German games free of charge, and showed the quarter-finals on free TV. With Nowitzki as a studio guest.
Only 25 minutes before the start of the game, the German Basketball Association (DBB) announced that its shooting star could be there despite an ankle injury from the round of 16 against Montenegro (85:79). “Franz Wagner is playing,” it said succinctly on Twitter, important for the team.
Like Johannes Voigtmann, who had a slight cold, the Berliner was in the starting five. Nick Weiler-Babb returned to the squad after he was out due to shoulder problems, although Herbert preferred Andreas Obst.
A good move, the DBB team started furiously and showed a real threesome show – five of the first six throws were successful. When Obst scored to make it 19:9, the hall boiled. But Antetokounmpo held back and scored well. In addition, the Greeks were always successful in the zone.
20:1 start into the third quarter
“We don’t think our journey is ending,” Herbert had said. And his team met the favorite at the repeat of the 2005 European Championship final on an equal footing. Unlike in the round of 16, when many places remained empty, this time there was enormous support from the stands – also from the Greek fans.
When Wagner made it 44:40 with a crashing dunk (16 th ), the noise level went up a notch, the game remained high-class – and tight. Three seconds before the break, Schröder made a step mistake, the Greeks punished the loss of the ball when Kostas Sloukas sirened from the halfway line to make it 61:57.
“We have to play better defensively,” demanded Johannes Thiemann on the way to the dressing room. And that was impressive: The Greeks remained without a point for more than three minutes, with a 20:1 start (!) the Germans quickly pulled away (77:62/27th), the sensation was looming.
The Greeks did not succeed in this phase. Antetokounmpo, who had 19 points and eight assists at the break, fought back from being eliminated. But the DBB team around the strong Schröder always had an answer. When Antetokounmpo left, the game was over.
Germany – Greece 107:96 (57:61)
Best Players: Schröder (26), Obst (19), Wagner (19), Theis (13), Thiemann (10) for Germany – Giannis Antetokounmpo (31), Larentzakis (18), Dorsey (13) for Greece
Viewers: 14,073 (sold out)