The German basketball players won the second World Cup qualifier even without their European champions. After initial difficulties, the blatant outsiders Cyprus ended up with a dominant 83:64 victory.
Till Pape and David Krämer were the top scorers with 14 points each. Pape, who made his debut in the DBB team in World Cup qualifying, hit three of his four shots from beyond the three-point line. National coach Alex Mumbru’s team celebrated a perfect start to qualifying for the 2027 World Cup with their second win in the second game.
“I’m not happy with the first half”said Mumbrú afterwards. “We didn’t play well, we weren’t in rhythm. We didn’t put in the effort required in a game like this. We were much better in the second half.”
DBB team without European champion Bonga, da Silva and Hollatz
After the confident 86:69 victory against Israel at the start of the World Cup qualification, the national coach did without the three remaining European champions in the squad against the blatant outsider: Munich’s Justus Hollatz, Oscar da Silva (both FC Bayern) and Isaac Bonga (Partizan), who were heavily burdened in the Euroleague, did not make the trip to Cyprus, especially since Europe’s premier class continues again from Thursday.
David Krämer from Real Madrid, on the other hand, was in the mixed-up starting lineup, together with the three Berliners Norris Agbakoko, Malte Delow and playmaker Jack Kayil as well as the experienced Chris Sengfelder.
Sengfelder, a member of the 2022 European Championship bronze team, scored his first two attempts. The German team quickly gained a 12:4 lead, but allowed themselves to lose their rhythm and allow the hosts to come into the game. At the end of the first quarter the lead was only 20:17.
Re-formed DBB team had problems in Cyprus for a long time
It turned out to be an unexpectedly tricky game against the Cypriots, who had lost all of their games at the European Championships by an average of 33 points and had suffered a 60:100 defeat in the qualifying opener against Croatia. The reformed German team, in which the internationally experienced Louis Olinde also remained on the bench, continued to struggle immensely, struggled with coordination problems and remained ice-cold when throwing from outside.
For a long time there was no sign of the recently successful high-tempo basketball under Mumbru. The German team hardly got any easy points in transition and missed many chances despite their clear superiority in rebounds. At the other end, they allowed the Cypriots, who were actually significantly inferior in terms of athleticism, too many points near the basket – the game remained close until halftime, despite a 42:39 lead.
More intensity at DBB – Collin Welp with debut
After the break, the DBB team performed with significantly more intensity. Finally the throws came from outside: Krämer, Kayil and Pape scored from “downtown” and brought security back into the German game.
Top scorer against Cyprus: Till Pape
Collin Welp, son of basketball legend Chris Welp, also scored his first four points in the DBB uniform. The DBB team only allowed 9 points from the opponent in the third quarter. Jonas Mattisseck increased the lead to 21 points shortly before the siren with a converted three-pointer – equivalent to the preliminary decision in this game.
The outsiders, who played at their best in the first half, had nothing left to oppose; for the German team it was like a test match in the final quarter.
Croatia next opponent in World Cup qualification
With two wins from the first two games, the DBB team is fully on track for World Cup qualification. The two duels against Croatia take place in the coming qualifying window (February 26 and March 1, 2026). At the end of the first group phase in July 2026, in the return games against Israel and Cyprus, the NBA players around Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner could also join the team again.