The German basketball players prevailed against Latvia in a thriller and reached the semi-finals of the Basketball World Cup for the first time since 2002. The selection of the German Basketball Association (DBB) won on Wednesday (September 6th, 2023) in Manila with 81:79 and now meets the top favorite USA.
In the semi-final against the USA, which takes place on Friday (2.40 p.m.) in Manila, the DBB selection will reach for the first World Cup medals since 2002, when Dirk Nowitzki’s team won bronze.
Reaching the World Cup semi-finals could also mean early qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games. Should Canada prevail against Slovenia in the final quarter-finals, Germany would already have secured the Olympic ticket as one of the two remaining European nations in the World Cup tournament.
Franz Wagner with a strong comeback
Franz Wagner, who had to miss four games in the opener against Japan after his ankle injury, made his comeback in the quarter-finals and ended up being the top scorer in the German team with 16 points. Andreas Obst (16 points) and Johannes Thiemann (13) also scored double digits for the DBB team, captain Dennis Schröder only managed 9 points.
Semi-final against USA: “Great feeling”
“We didn’t make it easy for ourselves,” said Andreas Obst at Magentasport after the German team had had problems implementing their own match plan for a long time. “But it’s a great feeling that we’re in the semi-finals now.” The duel with the USA will now be “a fight”.
“In the end we only had 10 assists, that says it all,” said national coach Gordon Herbert and then complained about the “lack of ball movement” in his team, who played too statically on offense and lacked the usual strong teamwork.
Germany with teething problems
The German team, clear favorites against the surprise quarter-finalists from Latvia, started nervously and with the almost usual initial difficulties: Andreas Obst scored the only German points in the first five minutes with a deep three. On the other side, the Latvians were wide awake – national coach Herbert took the first time-out with a deficit of 3:13 and sent Franz Wagner onto the floor.
The man from Orlando also scored his first points after his comeback. But it was above all the strong players from the bench who brought the German team back into play: Johannes Thiemann repeatedly used his physical superiority successfully in the zone, as did Moritz Wagner, who made his debut with a crashing dunk in the second quarter provided the lead (17:16).
It was an even game because the Latvians moved the ball well and scored well from long range. And also because Dennis Schröder was looking for his rhythm for a long time: Germany’s captain didn’t hit any of his nine attempts from the field – the German team went into the break with a wafer-thin 36:34 lead.
Nerve game until the final phase
Latvia remained level in the second half, as well as Davis Bertans (20 points) and Arturs Zagars scored a good percentage from downtown.
But the German team held back: leader Schröder scored his first points in the 13th attempt. And Franz Wagner, who still had the handbrake on in the first half, turned up the heat: The Berliner made sure that Germany maintained the narrow lead with seven quick points.
Nerve game until the final phase
It remained a game of nerves until the final phase: There Franz Wagner again took responsibility for the still unlucky Schröder: First two strong, successful drives to the basket, then Wagner served Isaac Bonga with a lot of overview, who sank a three from the corner: The The German team started the last quarter with an 8:0 run and took a double-digit lead for the first time (70:59).
Bertans missed possible match winner
But the Latvians came back again. Zagars, the leading player of the game with 24 points, brought his side back to two points with two strong finishes in the final minute. After Schröder misplaced the last German attack, Bertans had the chance of a possible match winner on the other side, but just missed his three – Germany trembled into the semifinals.