Dennis Schröder quickly shook off his disappointment. “I as captain and the boys want to get a medal. We would make history,” said the captain of the German basketball team on Friday after the 91:96 (51:46) defeat in the European Championship semifinals against world champions Spain: “And that’s it Enough motivation for everyone.”
On Sunday (5:15 p.m. RTL) the Germans will play against Poland for bronze and their third European Championship medal after gold in 1993 and silver in 2005. “Anyone who has no motivation should not be here. Everyone is motivated to win the game on Sunday,” said Schröder, who shone with 30 points against Spain.
Match for 3rd place: warning of strong Poles
Andreas Obst also looked ahead and warned against the Poles, who clearly lost 54:95 (18:34) to France in the second semi-final. “They will also come motivated and want to grab a medal,” said the Bayern Munich professional: “So you shouldn’t underestimate your opponents now. It’s still a good basketball team.”
Meanwhile, national coach Gordon Herbert recalled the recent encounters with Poland. “We had two tight games against them in the World Cup qualifiers. We won both games, but both were tight until the last minute,” said the Canadian. “It’s a very good basketball team with three very good guards.”