Germany’s hitherto successful female basketball players clearly lost their European Championship quarter-finals against top team Spain. Now the placement games are important.
The quarter-finals of the European Women’s Championship on Thursday (June 22, 2023) in Ljubljana, Slovenia, was a clear affair. Spain lived up to their role as favorites and outclassed the surprise German team with 67:42 (33:16). Germany, at a European Championship for the first time since 2011, had shone in the group stage, but now clearly missed the first European Championship semifinals since 1997.
The German hit rate of 13/51 (25 percent) was clearly too weak, the best thrower was Sonja Greinacher with nine points. In Spain, four players scored double digits, Laura Gil had the top value with 13 points and was also ahead in rebounds (11).
Olympic dream lives on
Spain will now play against Hungary on Saturday for a place in the final, while Belgium and France will play the other semi-final. Germany meets the Czech Republic in the placement round on Saturday. A win would see Sunday’s match for fifth place against the winners of the Serbia-Montenegro game.
Fifth place would secure participation in an Olympic qualifying tournament. A German women’s team has never been represented in an Olympic basketball tournament.
clearly notice respect
Spain immediately pulled away in the quarter-finals and steadily increased their lead. First 6:0, then 13:2, finally 20:7 after the first quarter – the respect of the German team for the favorites was clearly noticeable.
Germany’s top players Marie Gülich and Leonie Fiebich play prominent roles in the Spanish league: Gülich won the title with Valencia BC, Fiebich (Casademont Zaragoza) was voted the league’s most valuable player. But now they could not even out the class difference between Germany and Spain.
Gülich and Fiebich go down with them
The Spaniards knew the qualities of center Gülich and winger Fiebich and made life difficult for them. Gülich remained without points in the entire first half, Fiebich only missed two throws and hit one of them. Only 5 of 27 German throws went in, the half-time deficit was 16:33.
In the second round, Spain remained the clearly better team, Germany still lacked the accuracy. Gülich, outstanding in the win against Slovakia, only scored her first goal in the final minute of the third quarter, and she ended up with six points. Fiebich only got five points.
Spain on course for the title
In the last quarter, Spain played the game to the end and is now hoping for the fourth European Championship title after 2013, 2017 and 2019. The German team and its Canadian national coach Lisa Thomaidis can be satisfied with the course of the tournament despite the quarter-final smack – fifth place would still be the Coronation.