The European Championship is waving: The German basketball players have solved their mandatory task with flying colors and the EM ticket almost in their pockets.
Without the NBA stars around Dennis Schröder, the team of national coach Álex Mumbrú defeated Montenegro on Thursday (20.02.2025) Montenegro in the penultimate qualification game in Podgorica with 95:76 (50:38). The Germans are not yet through mathematical, but the chances are excellent.
Thiemann with 16 points in the best thrower
Since the Bulgarians won the parallel game against Sweden with 81:77 after extra time, the European Championship third of 2022 must qualify for the European Championship in Latvia, Finland, Poland and Cyprus (August 27 to September 14) on Sunday (5.30 p.m./ Live tickers at Sportschau.de) Make perfect against the Bulgarians in the final home game in Bamberg. A German success is enough in any case.
Should Sweden win on Sunday to the DBB team against Montenegro on Sunday, Germany would have to lose difference with at least 68 points so that a subsequent four comparison can lead the German team to fourth place and thus miss the European Championship. It is a utopian scenario.
World champion Johannes Thiemann was in Montenegro with 16 points in the best thrower of the Germans, who celebrated the third victory in the fifth qualifying game. In the table of Group D, the Mumbrú team shows the same balance as Montenegro (3: 2), Sweden and Bulgaria (both 2: 3) follow behind it.
First direct comparison, then a basket ratio
It is not impossible that all teams have the same balance of 3: 3 after the end of the qualification, whereby ultimately direct comparisons and basket conditions would decide on the allocation of the EM tickets. But here the starting point of the Germans is very promising. Only the first three teams in the group reach the final round.
Unlike in other international play windows, Mumbrú can fall back on players from the Euroleague this time, a total of six world champions were in Podgorica. The recently switched from NBA to AS Monaco, Daniel Theis is added in Bamberg. As usual, the other NBA professionals around Schröder and co-star Franz Wagner are not part of the qualification.
Strong defensive and reliable from near -distance
Mumbrú, successor to success coach Gordon Herbert, saw in Podgorica a focused idea of his team from the start. The Germans just scored reliably out of the zone from a watch defensive, only in the second quarter they let Montenegro get a little after Montenegro.
Shortly before half -time, the guests ran hot from the triple line and pulled away. Isaac Bonga, Andreas Obst, David Krämer: Germany met out of all locations. After the half-time break, the world champions pulled the opponent the plug with an 8-0 run, and a 20-point lead was quickly.
As a result, the Mumbrú team, which continued to score from outside and dominated on the board, controlled the game in a highly serious manner – and never left a doubt about the canteen victory. The last step should now follow in Bamberg.