The German basketball players were assigned a difficult preliminary round group in the draw for the World Cup in the summer.
National coach Gordon Herbert’s team meets Finland, Australia and co-hosts Japan. This did not fulfill Herbert’s wish to be able to hold the preliminary round games in the Philippine capital Manila, where the final round will also take place.
Herbert: “Interesting group”
“It’s a very interesting group”Herbert said after the draw. “Last year we were in a death group at the European Championships. Now we’ve got a difficult group again.”, said the national coach with a view to the games in Okinawa, Japan. The World Cup will take place from August 25th to September 10th in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Theis: “Can also be an advantage”
“It’s not an easy group. But it can also be an advantage to be challenged against strong opponents right away, because then you’re in the tournament from the start.”said NBA professional Daniel Theis, who will be back in the summer.
Herbert wants to rely mostly on the squad that inspired at the home European Championships in Cologne and Berlin in 2022 and won the bronze medal. In addition, NBA professionals Moritz Wagner and Maximilian Kleber, who were absent last year, have declared their willingness to take part in the World Cup.