DBB team has a bad run
World champion Germany embarrasses itself in European Championship qualification
February 25, 2024, 6:24 p.m
For the first time since last August, world champion Germany lost a basketball game: In Bulgaria, the DBB team delivered a weak performance and surprisingly lost in the European Championship qualification.
World champion Germany was disappointed and surprisingly suffered its first setback on the way to the 2025 European Basketball Championship. Three days after the opening victory in the qualification against Montenegro in Ludwigsburg (85:61), national coach Gordon Herbert’s team lost to hosts Bulgaria 62:67 (27:28). It is the first defeat for the German team since August 2023.
The selection of the German Basketball Federation (DBB), in which David Krämer was once again the only gold medalist from Manila, is currently second in the table behind the Bulgarians in group D of four with a 1:1 record. Sweden can also overtake in the evening . Three teams will get a ticket for next year’s EuroBasket in Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia.
Herbert changed his starting five in just one position. Nick Weiler-Babb, who did not make the trip to Botevgrad due to a death in the family, was replaced by Nelson Weidemann. As against Montenegro, the DBB selection started strongly (19:4/8th minute), but then lost the thread. After a 0:16 negative run, the lead went to the Bulgarians (19:20/13th), the game was completely open.
In the unsightly duel, the German team scored poorly from the field and very poorly from the three-point line. When Codi Miller-Mcintyre scored for Bulgaria in the final minute to make it 67:62, the game was lost. As on Thursday, the best thrower in the DBB team was Oscar da Silva (15 points).
The NBA professionals around national team captain Dennis Schröder were not available to Herbert, and the Canadian did without the other world champions – apart from Krämer – in the first international match window of the year. The qualification doesn’t continue until November with the two games against Sweden. From now on the focus will be on preparing for the Olympic Games in Paris. This is scheduled to begin on July 1st.