Ko-round reached, the medal dream lives: Germany’s basketball players booked the quarter-final ticket at the European Championship.
The team led by star player Leonie Fiebich won the decisive group game against Great Britain 80:67 (48:32) and completed the preliminary round group D with two wins in a defeat.
The German team will travel to the Greek port city of Piraeus on Monday with fresh self -confidence, where the final round takes place. Quarter final opponents are none other than defending champion Belgium on Wednesday. The goal of the German team, which had lost to Fitfavorit Spain (60:79) after the opening victory against Sweden (89:76), is the first medal since the 1997 EM bronze.
The DBB women laid the foundation for progress in the game against Great Britain on Sunday evening with a strong initial phase. With a lot of will and great passion, the team of national coach Lisa Thomaidis never had any doubt despite a weak phase in the third quarter and said goodbye to her domestic fans with another basketball party.
The best German thrower in front of 3414 spectators in the again sold -out Inselpark Arena in Hamburg was Frieda Bühner with 17 points. Luisa Geiselsöder and Fiebich each came to 14 points. As a reminder: At the European Championship two years ago, Germany won far more narrowly against the British (62:61) in the preliminary round in Ljubljana.
DBB team “ready” for quarter-final showdown
Unimpressed by the first tournament defeat against Spain, Thomaidis had announced before the game of being “ready”: “We have to win to continue to be able to hunt a medal.”
The German team around the WNBA stars Fiebich and Luisa Geiselsöder followed the words of the boss from the start. A little more than three minutes were played when a 12: 2 lighted up on the scoreboard. And Germany stayed on the accelerator pedal. Thanks to a 14-0 run and a very strong defense with six minutes and ten seconds without a British basket, the DBB women set up to 26: 8 until the first quarter.
As a result, the fans in Hamburg also celebrated every successful action by the German team frenetic. But even though feverly increased directly to 29: 8 with a transformed threesome, the actions are now lost in punch and concentration. The baskets no longer fell in front, access was missing in the back. And so the British were suddenly up to five points 15 minutes before the end (53:48). But led by Fiebich, Geiselsöder and the again strong stoner, the German team pulled away again.