By Matthew Marburg
Quarter fiiiiinaaaall, oho! Germany is in the next round of the home EM! Against basketball dwarf Montenegro there is a 85:79. Now the winner from Greece is waiting against the Czech Republic (Sunday, 8.45 p.m., Magenta Sport live).
The German giants win under the eyes of basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki (44). And under his jersey, which also hangs under the Halle ceiling in Berlin, because Dirk’s number 14 in the German national team will never be awarded again.
Nowitzki sees a German team without Nick Weiler-Babb (26). The Bayern professional has to pass with shoulder problems. But Germany has Dennis Schröder. There were many question marks about the NBA star (currently without a club) in the preliminary round. He sets some exclamation points against Montenegro: 22 points, eight assists, plus four rebounds. However, he still has room for improvement.
National coach Gordon Herbert (63) starts with Wagner, Schröder, Obst, Theis and Voigtmann.
And the boys start the game with a solid 11-2 run. Also thanks to three assists from Dennis Schröder. Then Montenegro comes up to 11:10. But after the first ten minutes it’s 19:10. Without that, without a single point from NBA star Franz Wagner (Orlando). Theis and Lo each have five.
The second section is relatively one-sided. Because Wagner (nine points) turns it up. Because Schröder distributes one assist after the other and even hammers a dunking into the basket. He then makes the glasses gesture towards his family on the sidelines (mother, brother, his pregnant wife Ellen and their two children). According to the motto “Did you see that?”.
There’s excitement too! After a foul by Montenegro, three players suddenly fly onto the floor. When Wagner gets up again, one of the referees checks him to the side. Want to prevent such a confrontation.
Half-time score: 48:24. A sure thing!
► Maybe Montenegro is just a bit tired from the journey. The troupe came from the preliminary round in Tbilisi on Thursday. There the plane to Berlin took off an hour late. The players of all four teams on board (Spain, Belgium and Turkey) then had to wait almost two hours for their luggage at the breakdown airport BER. And then they were frisked at customs for a long time. Once outside, things didn’t go any better – the team bus got stuck in a huge traffic jam on the way to the hotel. The journey took ten hours in total.
Shock second in the third quarter: After a foul, Wagner comes up wrong, writhing in pain. But he runs out of pain and can continue playing. And hit all three free throws after the foul. Standing after 30 minutes: 67:50.
Shortly before the end, Montenegro suddenly gets three points (80:77). But Germany is too ripped off, brings the number home. In the end it’s 85:79 – much tighter than necessary! The best German thrower is Dennis Schröder with 22, Maodo Lo and Franz Wagner each have 14. Kendrick Perry makes 25 for Montenegro.
Nick Weiler-Babb (26) should be back in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.