After a strong start against Montenegro, the German basketball players trembled again in the round of 16 of the European Basketball Championship, but got away with a black eye.
The team around the NBA-Professionals Franz Wagner, Dennis Schröder and Daniel Theis won on Saturday with 85:79 (48:24) and is in the quarterfinals. The opponents on Tuesday (September 13th, 2022) are expected to be the Greeks, who are the clear favorites in their round of 16 on Sunday against the Czech Republic.
“We saw two different games”, said national coach Gordon Herbert at “MagentaSport”. After a good first half, his team “lost the momentum”. With a view to the quarter-finals, it’s about being there for the full duration of the game: “We have to play 40 minutes, no matter who we’re up against.”
Dennis Schröder does magic in half one
The Germans got off to an excellent start. Schröder and Theis seemed well recovered after their break against Hungary and the Montenegrins had to take their first time-out after less than three minutes at 8:2. When the DBB selection then for a short time no longer handled the ball so responsibly, the outsider sensed the morning air and was up again at 11:10. After the first quarter, the lead of Schröder and Co. increased again to 19:10.
Gordon Herbert’s team also started the second quarter confidently. Thanks to concentrated defense against relatively unimaginative Montenegrins, a lot of movement in the offensive game and various offensive rebounds, the DBB team continued to pull away. Dennis Schröder, in particular, repeatedly delighted the Berlin audience, which also included Dirk Nowitzki, with a few dream passes and a spectacular dunk. It was 48:24 at half-time.
Montenegro comes up – Franz Wagner twists his ankle
However, the break had not done the Germans any good. Montenegro managed a 13-0 run early in the third quarter and suddenly it was down to 51-37. Gordon Herbert called his protégés to order in a time out and the DBB lead remained at least stable – even if the dominance did not return. But there was still a moment of shock for the German fans: Wagner twisted his ankle when he was fouled and was no longer used. The national coach spoke of one “bad sprain”. The next few days would show how Wagner is doing.
In the final quarter, Montenegro got off to a better start again. After less than 90 seconds, the Germans saw themselves again at the worse end of an 8-0 run. Defensively there was a lack of intensity and Montenegro’s long-range shooter Kendrick Perry kept heating up. Suddenly it was only 69:64. The Germans had big problems with the zone defense of the Montenegrins, who now also reliably converted from a distance.
Very tight final phase
It was a close final phase. Schröder, actually the best German that day, lost the ball shortly before the end of the game, Montenegro scored: 80:77. 25 seconds left to play. Montenegro’s Perry was then given an unsportsmanlike foul that was somewhat flattering from a German point of view – Maodo Lo converted the bonus free throws with nerves of steel and thus ensured that DBB got a black eye. Schröder had 22 points and eight assists, making him Germany’s top scorer.
Spain conquers Lithuania
Spain advanced on Saturday night after a thriller. The world champion eliminated Lithuania in a duel at eye level with 102:94 (83:83, 40:45) after extra time. Ignas Brazdeikis saved the Balten, who had just reached the round of 16 after three defeats at the start of the tournament, with a tip-in in the last second of regular time into overtime. Lorenzo Brown was the decisive man with 12 points in the extra five minutes as Spain now face Finland or Croatia.