High spirits in basketball: The German national team beat Greece 107:96 in a gripping quarter-final on Tuesday (13.09.22) and is in the round of the last four at the European Championships. Next opponent is Spain.
“These are the games we all live for, you could see how electrifying it was”, said Niels Giffey completely overwhelmed after the game. Teammate Andreas Obst added: “We gave 100 percent throughout the game, we supported each other. Energy from all corners. The spectators were there too, it was great fun.”
The DBB team got off to a furious start to the game. Almost everything went well under the basket, even the three-point attempts from a distance fell. After a few minutes Germany was leading 19:9. Greece worked their way back up a bit during the first quarter, but after eight successful three-pointers, the first quarter ended 31:27 for Germany.
No break after the first quarter
Even after the short quarter break, the team of the national coach lost Gordon Herbert not the thread. Germany held a four-point lead with Franz Wagner, whose role was only confirmed shortly before the start of the game after his foot injury. But Giannis Antetokounmpo increasingly showed his qualities.
The NBA star who was born in Athens not only scored himself, but also tied the German more and more defence and drew fouls. After six minutes in the second period, Greece tied for the first time (44:44). The Greeks were particularly strong with offensive rebounds, where Herbert’s squad clearly showed negligence. The DBB selection did not lose their morale, but with some luck the opponent pulled away to 61:57 at halftime. Greece hit the basket from the halfway line with the final siren.
Improved after the break: defensive behavior as if substituted
With much more consistent defensive work, Germany quickly equalized again and shortly afterwards took the lead again. Especially Wagner sunk threes and threes, Germany pulled away to 77:62. All parts of the team worked, Antetokounmpo was consistently blocked, led by Dennis Schröder, Daniel Theis was also in top form. “Hellas” only scored one point in the first seven minutes of the third quarter, Germany made 20. From a German perspective, the rousing and inspiring game went into the last quarter break with an 83:71 lead.
At the latest when in the fourth quarter of Theis the “double-double” managed (13 points, eleven rebounds), the German team and the spectators believed in the semi-finals. At this point, Germany was leading 92:78, just under seven minutes before the end of the game.
Antetokounmpo has to go down – Schröder too
The final blow to the Greeks’ neck was the second unsportsmanlike foul called against Antetokounmpo five minutes before the end: during a defensive action, the 2.11-metre man Johannes Thiemann hit his arm in the face and was sent off. Germany pulled away to 103:82, but the extremely strong Schröder made his second technical foul in a verbal skirmish and followed his NBA colleague into the dressing room. But without its superstar, Greece was no longer able to stop Germany.