The German basketball players set a sporting exclamation mark immediately before the European Championships at home and can already plan to participate in the 2023 World Cup. The team of national coach Gordon Herbert surprisingly defeated European champion Slovenia around NBA star Luka Doncic 90:71 (33:31) in Munich on Sunday and thus won the seventh consecutive victory in the World Cup qualification.
The best German throwers in front of 6136 spectators – including Bayern footballers Joshua Kimmich, Alphonso Davies and Jamal Musiala – were captain Dennis Schröder (17 points) and NBA talent Franz Wagner (16). Doncic delivered 23 points, six rebounds and five assists, but that wasn’t enough. In the third quarter, the point guard left the floor for a short time because he had twisted his ankle.
In the European Championship opening match on Thursday evening (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) against France, the team around Schröder, who is currently without a club, takes a lot of self-confidence with them. France surprisingly lost 90-96 the night before after two extra hours in Bosnia. At the European Championship (September 1st to 18th) the German team will contest the preliminary round in Cologne. The complete final round from the round of 16 takes place in Berlin.
For the big positions, coach Herbert is hoping for a return from Indiana Pacers’ Daniel Theis, who was missing on Sunday due to knee problems. “It’s going pretty well. I increased the load today. I’m very confident,” said Theis, who could become the fifth NBA failure after Maxi Kleber, Isaac Bonga, Isaiah Hartenstein and Moritz Wagner, before the game. A decision on his participation in the European Championship should be made on Tuesday.
In Munich, where the Olympic basketball tournament was played in the same hall 50 years ago, things went very well without Theis. Nick Weiler-Babb and Wagner took turns looking after Doncic, who nevertheless repeatedly demonstrated his outstanding skills. The Dallas Mavericks star quickly hit two threes and, as usual, orchestrated the offensive of the 2017 European champions. The game was of great importance for Slovenia because Doncic is not available for the remaining qualifying games due to the NBA season.
Germany didn’t show much respect for the strong Slovenia from the start. Substitute Obst quickly hit three threes at his home ground, and the young Wagner was also at his best a day after his 21st birthday. “He does it excellently. He will give us all a lot of joy,” said association president Ingo Weiss at half-time. After the break, Wagner continued strong and with numerous smooth movements, and the DBB team defended strongly and with a lot of passion. The superior third quarter was the basis for the surprising home win.
To qualify for Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines in 2023, teams in the group of six must finish in the top three. Both Germany and Slovenia are currently doing this, as well as Finland. For the Herbert team, the next qualifying game is against the Finns on November 10th – but before that there are at least five and a maximum of nine games at the European Championship.
