Things are not going well in the preparation for the European Championship for the German basketball players. In the Supercup, Daniel Theis and Niels Giffey now have to pass.
The joy of Nick Weiler-Babb’s late arrival did not last long among the German basketball players. Because while the Bayern Munich professional, who has just been naturalized, is supposed to celebrate his debut in the national jersey at the Supercup in Hamburg this weekend, national coach Gordon Herbert is missing two other important players.
According to the German Basketball Federation, NBA professional Daniel Theis is not there for reasons of load control. Niels Giffey is absent for personal reasons.
Difficult personnel puzzle for Gordon Herbert
And so Herbert is faced with the first real endurance test in preparation for the European Championship with a preliminary round in Cologne and the final round in Berlin (September 1st to 18th) before a difficult personal puzzle.
Actually, the national coach wanted to use the traditional tournament to finally bring his team up to speed. “I want to see how the boys find their roles”Herbert had said.
Time is running out
But now two important players are missing in Theis and Giffey. Herbert nominated two players in Leon Kratzer and Gavin Schilling. But around two weeks before the start of the European Championship, time is slowly running out for the German team.
“We brought Leon and Gavin back because we have to protect ourselves a bit in the big positions. If something happens, we have to be prepared.”, Herbert justified the decisions. It is still not really clear how the hosts at the European Championships will achieve the medal that Herbert has set for themselves.
Nick Weiler-Babb requires patience
Because Weiler-Babb, who finally joined the team on Thursday, will very likely only be used in the second game on Saturday against Italy or Serbia. The Bayern Munich professional, who was only recently naturalized, was absent for family reasons, but joined the team on Thursday.
“Nick trained without contact on Thursday as he only arrived two hours before practice. I’m not sure yet if he will play on Friday, but definitely on Saturday” Herbert said.
The German team meets the Czech Republic this Friday (8.30 p.m.). On Saturday it’s either against Italy or against Serbia.