analysis
After two tough games, the world champion runs and meets the semi -finals as he imagines it. With the victory against Finland in the back, the German basketball players have a solid enough for the first European Championship title in 32 years. And go to eat pizza first.
“Basketball is a game on a parquet with ten players, a ball, and in the end Germany wins Germany“The Finnish sports director and former German national coach Henrik Dettmann had carried this into the world before the semi -finals between Germany and Finland.
Dettmann sat in the arena of Riga a day before the game, while his players poured out on the parquet for a few meters away and rushed up to each other during training to stuff the ball through the ring. Basketball professionals usually do this quite well without help. But it showed that the Finns are solved before the biggest event in their association. They have never been among the last four of the European men’s championship.
The boys around NBA star Lauri Markkanen saved this looseness in the game against Germany and roared directly: 14: 6 led them after a good four minutes of play. And they fought and sprinted this lead with the way Germany wants to act: accessible in defense and then come to light deals in full sprint and with quick passes.
Finland plays German basketball
So the Finns dared to perform the German style. Wing player Tristan Da Silva had asked for the tough victory against Slovenia in the quarter -finals: “We have to play German basketball again. “And Franz Wagner joined and underlined this before the game against Finland when he said that it would be a long evening for everyone if you don’t stop Germany in the first eight seconds of an attack.
Service carrier from the bank: Tristan da Silva
Wagner and the German team took their style after an awkward start after they had survived the first Finnish storm. From the middle of the first quarter it looked like German basketball. Again and again the world champion reaches ball winnings and quick attacks, which Tristan da Silva, for example, ended with a threesome from the corner. After that, his older brother Oscar was also allowed to engage and increased with a basket in almost break to 26:19. The Germans even put on the pace.
In the second quarter they rushed so quickly that they ran into the half -time break with 61:47. The German basketball players had found their Mojo.
Tristan da Silva: “Then everything opens for us”
Later in the press conference Tristan da Silva explained: “We are the strongest: when we have collected one or get the rebound and then push the ball and play quickly. Then everything opens for us. That was the key to the game today. The Finns also played quickly, but I think we did a good job overall. “
The Small Forward of Orlando Magic is the new in the national team alongside Leon Kratzer. His role: Franz Wagner represent and score when the Berliner scurries on the bench for a mini break. Da Silva consistently performed his task in the semi-finals with 13 points and three out of six transformed three-point throws.
Just don’t forget the brother
Born in Munich, the bank always comes from the bank at his first Eurobasket and scored double digits in the last four of five games. “It’s a lot of fun playing with these boys“Silva raved on the podium of the press room in Riga.”With Dennis ‘and Franz’ Leadership, with the boys who have been there for a long time: Johannes Thiemann, Johannes Voigtmann, Andi Obst. This is just a great group. ”
“And Oscar! “, said coach Alan Ibrahimagic, who was sitting next to him, and caused a laugh with his throw -in. Tristan da Silva said after a short break of art with a grin:”Yes, with Oscar too.“He almost forgot his older brother.
Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder went ahead against Finland again: Wagner with 22 points and Schröder with 26. In addition, the captain put on twelve assists, seven of them in the first quarter alone: Both values are record for an EM semi-final and they made Schröder primarily because his team went this high pace and finished. The exact opposite of the sometimes very ride appearances against Portugal and Slovenia.
Dennis Schröder: “We have remained mentally stable”
The game designer Schröder makes a significant decision about the speed in the German game. With the exception of the initial phase, his team controlled the action and remained stable at the end when Finland robbed himself of six points. There it was 71:77 and the hall that had been dipped in a lot of blue and white. “Suomi! Suomi!“It echoed from the ranks and the few hundred German fans hardly penetrated several thousand fans from Finland.
“It was a team effect“, Schröder said,”We knew that the Finns would come out hard. But we have remained mentally strong and won the victory. “
Pizza meal with the whole family
After the game, fast recovery was on the program. This time it should look like this: “We go to eat as a family. I think there is pizza. Franz organized this. We enjoy that and then it goes farr “, announced captain Schröder and added:”Shoutout to the team, also to Jo Voigtmann, who came from Munich.“Voigtmann had to leave during the group phase and be operated on the knee in Munich. The co-captain was on the bench for the semi-finals for moral support.
The captain announced: “Huge performance up to here. We can be happy that we have silver. But at the beginning of the training camp we said that we want gold. Now we have 40 minutes to get gold on Sunday.. ”
If the Finn keeps Henrik Dettmann right and in the end always gains Germany anyway, then only these 40 minutes are missing to the first German European champion title since 1993.