Five wins in five World Cup games: After moving from Japan to the Philippines, Germany’s basketball players are now about the medals. A very important player is finally getting closer to making his debut after injury.
The throwing movement looks quite fluid again, even when running with the ball, Franz Wagner hardly notices the ankle injury he suffered at the start of the World Cup in Japan. However, according to sports show information, the small forward from the Orlando Magic only dared to go one-on-one against coach Gordon Herbert.
He can also grab a bit, as you saw in his short but violent time-out dispute with lead wolf Dennis Schröder at the Slovenia game. But the direct duels that await the German players on Wednesday (06.09.2023 at 10.45 a.m., live ticker and audio stream at sportschau.de) in the quarter-finals against Latvia, Herbert can not quite adequately simulate.
Maybe a few Wagner minutes against Latvia
Nevertheless, there is now hope that Franz Wagner will soon be able to strengthen the already very strong German team even further. A few minutes might be possible again against Latvia, Herbert says: “He wants to play. He’s quite frustrated and disappointed not to be able to play. He really wants to come back. We’ll have to see what the situation is on Tuesday. It’s looking good but you never know when someone will come out of injury returns.”
Manila will definitely be a different house number than Okinawa. After two weeks on Japan’s dream island, everything is at stake in the noisy, stuffy and hectic Philippine capital – maybe even gold. Franz’ brother Moritz Wagner takes the change of scenery professionally: “I’m not here for sightseeing. I want to gamble, I want to win a medal. That means: I take what comes. I take the games very, very seriously and I want to enjoy the rest.”
Five games, five wins, including the basketball demonstration against Slovenia’s superstar Luka Doncic, were to be enjoyed. But from now on, every game can mean the end of the battle for precious metal and qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris.
Herbert: “Do or die”
“The group games are over, now it’s do or die,” says Herbert. And Moritz Wagner makes it clear. “We have a lot of confidence in ourselves. If we don’t let ourselves be diverted from our path, then a lot is possible.” The German fans have been waiting for a World Cup medal for 21 years, and the DBB selection has never won the title.
Dennis Schröder, who is consistently Germany’s top scorer and the clear leader both on the pitch and in the time-outs, even sees potential for improvement compared to the Slovenia game: “We need to get off to a better start and be ready from the start. We need to do a little better in defense. But kudos to everyone who’s in the dressing room. Everyone puts their ego aside for the team. And everyone lets me also lead the team.”
No sanctions for Schröder after dispute
Schröder’s dispute with his childhood friend Daniel Theis and national coach Herbert on Sunday should no longer play a role in the further course of the tournament. Schroeder explains: “Everyone listens to everyone else, and that’s what sets us apart. You can sometimes give a shit. If I don’t like something, then I say so, and Daniel can do the same with me.”
In any case, the very special situation did not detract from the success, after the incident and the cool-down phase ordered by Herbert on the bench, both Schröder and Theis shone. There is much to suggest that Schröder’s attack was not about his own position or vanity, but solely about the optimal performance of the entire team. This is rather bad news for Latvia.