With returnee Dennis Schröder, the German basketball players got an important victory exactly one week before their start in the European Championships at home, despite a lackluster performance.
At the start of the second group stage of the World Cup qualification, the team of national coach Gordon Herbert won 67:50 (46:29) against hosts Sweden and secured first place.
“We played good basketball in the first half, on both sides of the court,” said Herbert. “In the second half we had problems on offense. Luckily we were able to maintain a two-digit lead.”
Because of an ankle injury he suffered last weekend at the Supercup in Hamburg, Schröder traveled to the national team on Wednesday. Only hours before the game in the Hovet, the German Basketball Association (DBB) announced that the captain could play.
Four days after the bitter smack in the Supercup final against Serbia (56:83), which Schröder missed, the playmaker was in the starting lineup. There was no sign of the injury from Braunschweig, Schröder ran smoothly.
The German team, again without NBA Vice Champion Daniel Theis from the Indiana Pacers, who suffered a knee injury, started strongly. NBA professional Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) in particular caused problems for the weak Swedes, who in turn hardly had any advantage offensively.
Schröder hits badly for a long time
After the good first quarter (25:9) the rhythm got lost a bit, Schröder scored badly for a long time after his forced break, but the lead remained stable. In the second round, the audience saw a mixed game. The DBB team around top scorer Wagner (16 points), which was disappointing in this phase, let the Swedes come up to ten points (52:42/30th minute), but brought the win home.
Germany has only dropped one point in qualifying so far, three teams from Group J are going to the 2023 World Cup, the starting position is excellent.
Before the start of the European Championship in Cologne against title candidate France (September 1), only the dress rehearsal is on the agenda. On Sunday (3:00 p.m./MagentaSport) the next World Cup qualifier in Munich’s Audi Dome will be against European champions Slovenia with NBA star Luka Doncic – the ultimate endurance test.