The exhilarating European Championship title is still omnipresent, so the German basketball players have to build up again for the next World Cup. This was achieved against Israel in an 86:69 victory even without the stars from the NBA.
On the way to defending their title at the World Cup in Qatar, every victory counts for the Germans. In qualifying group E with the strong opponents Israel, Croatia and underdog Cyprus, a place in the top three is enough to advance to the second round, but the results will be carried over there.
Germany without Schröder and Co.
Because the NBA professionals do not interrupt their season for qualifying, the German team had to make do without Dennis Schröder, Franz Wagner, Tristan da Silva and the still injured Moritz Wagner. However, to the delight of everyone involved, the one who was back on the sidelines was coach Àlex Mumbrú, who had recovered after a long illness.
Without the stars, but with debutants like Collin Welp, Till Pape, Norris Agbokoko and Mahir Agva in the squad, the German team got off to a swinging start. Israel scored the first three points, but the German team led by Isaac Bonga, who was extremely agile at the start, fought back strongly. It went up and down 3:3, 5:5 and 11:7 at top speed. Most accurate shooter in Germany: Bayern’s Oscar da Silva, who was used again and again by Bonga and remained ice cold under the basket.
Bonga dominant, da Silva ice cold
The individual action of youngster Jack Kayil before the 13:7 was also wonderful, as he first prevailed against two opponents and then served da Silva the ball under the basket in a bite-sized manner. The young guy from Alba Berlin scored the two points to make it 15:10 himself.
At 17:10 it almost looked as if the German team could really break away for the first time, but Israel fought back. Bar Timor in Hapoel Tel Aviv in particular became more and more noticeable. The 33-year-old veteran, who had already laced up his boots for Alba Berlin, gradually brought his team closer again, with Mumbru taking the first time out at 17:16.
Kayil casts a spell, Olinde scores
The game remained close, Germany tried to be variable. Builder Joshua Obiesie took a three-pointer every now and then, and the Braunschweig player was successful to make it 24:20. And even: thanks to a buzzer beater after an offensive rebound from Louis Olinde, the DBB team took a 26:22 lead into the second period.
The newly assembled German team did well overall, even if understandably not everything worked on offense at the beginning.
Germany as if in a frenzy
But at the beginning of the second quarter the Germans really let it rip. Builder Kayil in particular did his magic, his points to make it 38:26 from half-distance were fantastic.
The German team now played themselves into a frenzy in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The Israelis were literally overrun and were clearly 31:50 behind at the half-time siren after Obiesie’s final three-pointer.
Krämer turns it up a notch
This continued seamlessly in the third quarter. The German team defended consistently and continued to hunt for points in their own attack with a lot of speed and good ideas. Among other things, with David Krämer, who had to watch injured at the European Championships. Now the man from Real Madrid put on a sparkling clean match, the former Ulmer player was increasingly able to perform extremely well in defense and attack.
The German team was now leading by 27 points – the passivity of the usually much stronger Israelis was almost puzzling. However: At the end of the third quarter, the Mumbru team let things slide a bit – the guests were at least able to reduce the lead a little to 53:69.
From running to fighting
The Germans’ exhilarating run was gone, but the team was now fighting. Since Silve got important rebounds under the basket again and again – the opponent was able to be kept at a distance. Although the throws from the outside were no longer falling as they had been at the beginning, the Germans’ strong defense repeatedly prevented the Israeli flow of the game.
And when the tireless da Silva and Berlin’s Malte Delow scored again, the German team had put the lead back to over 20 points: 84:59. This lead was crucial – Team Germany didn’t let anything go wrong. And in the end they won the game 86:69. Even without the big stars from the NBA.
Monday in Cyprus
This is how it continues: The game in Limassol against Cyprus follows on Monday (December 1st, 2025). In qualifying for the 2027 World Cup, we will face Croatia twice in the new year. First on Thursday, February 26, 2026, in Croatia and then three days later on Sunday, March 11, 2026, in front of a home audience in Bonn.