At the Basketball World Cup, Germany also won the third group game and underpinned its status as a medal candidate. There was a clear 101:75 (47:39) victory against Finland on Tuesday (08/29/2023).
After the victories against Japan (81:63) and Australia (85:82), the German national basketball team had already reached the first milestone at the World Cup. Coach Gordon Herbert’s team had already qualified for the round of 16 before the last group game against Finland – but the goal was the perfect group stage. And it was. Although the start was quite problematic, in the end it was a clear affair – despite the failure of Franz Wagner.
Finland still ahead after the first quarter
His replacement Bonga also scored the first two points of the game with two free throws (1st). Overall, however, he and his colleagues had major problems on the offensive – although the defense was convincing at the beginning. Proof of this: After three minutes it was 3:2 for Germany. Only two minutes later Johannes Voigtmann scored the first basket from the game (5./8:5).
Towards the end of the second quarter, however, the Finns turned up the heat. Led by NBA star Lauri Markkanen, who scored six points in a row, they carved out a lead. Ilaria Seppala increased the outsider’s lead to 16:12 with a three-pointer (7th). Dennis Schröder answered with the first points from the middle distance (8th), but shortly afterwards coach Gordon Herbert had to intervene with the first time-out. The fact that his team only went into the first break at 19:22 was due to five quick points from Johannes Thiemann in the final phase.
DBB team pulls away thanks to Schröder
A scene at the beginning of the second quarter was the start of the turnaround. Moritz Wagner just saved an unsuccessful long-range shot by Maodo Lo and threw the ball blindly to Niels Giffey, who put the DBB team back in the lead with a three-pointer at 27:25 (13th). Schröder even increased the lead to 32:27 (14th) with a layup and a subsequent free throw.
Finland had big problems in their own degree and Germany now took advantage of their chances. Andreas Obst, who hasn’t really found his way into the tournament yet, was successful with a three-pointer and, with the first double-digit lead at 37:27, forced the opponent’s first time-out (15th). As a result, the Scandinavians caught up, led by Schröder (13 points), but the Germans went into half-time with a comfortable lead (47:39).
Bonga and fruit take care of that preliminary decision
In addition to Schröder, Bonga’s performance was also noteworthy. The FC Bayern Munich forward was convincing on the defensive and repeatedly initiated attacks with steals, and also dominated up front at the beginning of the third quarter. With seven points in a row, Bonga (at that time a total of 13 points) extended the German lead to 55:39 (22nd).
The German team managed to make the preliminary decision in this section of the game. The Finns slacked off defensively in particular, which Obst used in particular to find his rhythm. The guard made it 71:50 with a three pointer (27th). Finland responded with five points in a row, but that didn’t change the huge deficit before the last quarter. When the score was 76:55, the last break started.
Last show before the intermediate round
The last quarter was more of a show run. Neither side scored a basket for almost two minutes, Wagner then scored the first three points to make it 79:55 (32nd). All in all, the DBB team again showed excellent team basketball in this phase, most of the points came from relay passes, and the team hardly needed any individual actions.
And so Germany even managed to break the 100-point mark for the first time in this tournament. On top of that, it was the team’s highest win of the tournament with 101:75. In the end, Bonga and Schröder were the best scorers with 15 points each. Bigger tasks await in the intermediate round. Among other things, Slovenia around superstar Luka Doncic will most likely be one of the opponents.