DBB team gambles to fall in love with
A basketball game that has never existed before
09/14/2022, 1:15 p.m
Germany’s basketball players show an outstanding basketball game over 40 minutes, but are still behind at halftime. Hard to believe actually. Just like what happens after the break: The DBB team brings crazy energy to the field.
Can you fall in love with a basketball game? yes you can Can a basketball game be near perfect? yes it can On Tuesday evening in Berlin, the German national team conjured up a game that may well go down in decades as the most impressive in (German) history. In order to make people understand what happened against favorites Greece in the quarter-finals of the European Championship, a comparison to football is allowed, so that people who have previously viewed this sport in a rather distanced way can understand it. This game in the Mercedes-Benz Arena had the dimensions of the German 7-1 success against Brazil in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup or the 8-2 FC Bayern against FC Barcelona in the Champions League a good two years ago. The word historical is big and inflationary to use. But nothing else had happened.
Germany’s footballers crowned themselves after the humiliation of the host with the World Cup, FC Bayern grabbed the handle pot. And Germany’s basketball players? They are in the semi-finals – and can end 17 years of sporting drought against Spain. The last time there was a medal was at the 2005 European Championships, it was silver, and Dirk Nowitzki’s team conceded a clear win in the final. Against Greece. Of all things. Was that a revenge? Doesn’t matter. It was madness. From the first to the 36th minute. In the Dennis Schröder hit his last three, put on plus 21. The thing was finally decided. Breathe.
Every throw a hit – what madness
Breathe. Finally. The game hadn’t allowed anything of the sort before. It was an absurd duel, permanently in the anaerobic range. Mercilessly intense, brutal in pace. After a good six minutes, more than 50 points had already been scored. 28 for Germany, 23 for Greece. A result that is hard to believe. The DBB game hit everything – and that’s almost literal, but had no idea to defend Giannis Antetokounmpo. Which is not an accusation. Because having a plan to take the best basketball player in the world out of the game is one of the most complicated tasks in the sport. But not among the unsolvable ones, as Germany impressively demonstrated after the break. But there was still plenty of time before going into the cabin – and plenty of spectacle. Germany let the threes hail, Antetokounmpo plowed through the zone. Breathe? No!
The DBB team functioned as an outstanding collective, the Greeks fought against it with their superstar and the poisonous energy monster Giannoulis Larentzakis. The 28-year-old is one of those guys you don’t want to play against. Aggressive and constantly provocative. Not unfair, but annoying. Franz Wagner, Germany’s greatest basketball talent at the moment, experienced this painfully. Again and again he clashed with Larentzakis. What a duel. What a show. Both defended rock hard, held back with spectacular points and clear words. If the Greek hadn’t pulled his third foul early on, this duel would have had the potential to escalate. Maybe it’s a good thing it didn’t turn out that way.
Monster Energy from Monster Throw
It was one of many fascinating duels. Most of which went to Germany. It’s unbelievable what mental strength this team brought to the floor. It didn’t bother for a second that the offensive show wasn’t rewarded with a large lead. Even the opposite was the case. At half-time the Greeks were leading and had the momentum on their side. In the last second of quarter two, Kostas Sloukas hits an insane shot from the halfway line. A scene capable of breaking an opponent. But not the German team. Apparently that drew a monster energy out of this buzzerbeater – because what happened after the break was even more hilarious than anything seen before, only in a completely contrary way. It was a game that told a story that had not been heard, experienced.
The second half was no longer an open exchange of blows, no “run and gun” with increasingly wild degrees. The fascination of the game withdrew from the German defensive energy and callousness when throwing. Giannis Antetokounmpo, this man who is actually not to be defended, found no way into the German zone. If he found every little gap in the first two quarters and attacked profitably, there was nothing left. Just one more wall. The “Greek Freak” only got litters that he didn’t like. His colleagues could not compensate for that. They didn’t have a plan B that worked.
Germany, on the other hand, relied on the plans O for Obst, S for Schröder, T for Theis and W for Wagner. Threes continued to rain down (Obst and Wagner), Schröder attacked the basket like a raging bull (sometimes with a little too much show and arrogance) and Thies buffed away everything that got in his way. With a 20:1 run, the Greeks were worn down, presented, defeated. Antetokounmpo was thrown out of the hall in the middle of the last quarter after his second unsportsmanlike foul, Schröder followed a little later with two technical fouls. Minor blemishes in a game to fall in love with, a game that was amazingly close to sporting perfection.