Giant lead almost playful
Basketball players cramp into the quarterfinals
09/10/2022, 8:05 p.m
The DBB team goes into the half-time break of the European Championship round of 16 against Montenegro with a 24-point lead. But at the home game in Berlin, the big tremors suddenly begin. In the end, they bring the game over the line. The dream of a medal at the home European Championship lives on.
What a cramp! The German basketball players have mastered the mandatory task of Montenegro lackluster and even had to tremble for the quarter-finals of the European Championship. After the week of celebrations in Cologne, the team around captain Dennis Schröder struggled to a 85:79 (48:24) in the round of 16. On Tuesday in the Mercedes-Benz Arena on the way to the dreamed-of medal they may possibly face the “Greek Freak”. The next opponent is the Czech Republic or Greece around NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Schröder and Daniel Theis returned to the starting five after national coach Gordon Herbert rested them both in the last meaningless group game against Hungary (106:71). Nick Weiler-Babb was absent again with shoulder problems, and Andreas Obst stood in for the American in the tip-off.
“I hope that we can live up to our role as favourites. If we get on well, then we should actually win,” said German basketball idol Dirk Nowitzki before the round of 16 at MagentaSport. In the preliminary round with four wins from five games, the team finally “refueled with enough self-confidence”.
Good start in front of almost 13,000 spectators
There was no trace of nervousness, the German team started highly concentrated. After major problems in the tournament so far, Schröder scored his first three straight away, quickly making it 11:2 (4th minute). Because of many minor mistakes on offense, the opponent got into the game better and got a little closer, but the phase only lasted for a short time. Maodo Lo and Johannes Thiemann from Berlin brought a lot of energy from the bench, and the hosts dominated the rebounds in front of 12,938 spectators.
In only their third international match against the Montenegrins, after two defeats before that, Herbert’s protégés had everything under control and kept pulling away. The lead was in double digits early on (21:10/11.), before the break it was more than 20 points for the first time (40:19/18.). Schröder’s shot didn’t fall, but the playmaker directed it cleverly and repeatedly staged his teammates in a way that was well worth seeing. When going into the dressing room, the man from Braunschweig had seven assists.
Only cramp in the second half
From the stands, EM ambassador Nowitzki saw a complete false start to the second half, with Montenegro closing in on 14 points with a 13-0 run. Top scorer Schröder (22 points) hit an important three-pointer to make it 56:40, but the rhythm was completely gone. Then Franz Wagner (14 points) injured his right ankle and followed the last quarter with a thick ice pack on his foot. And it got exciting. Montenegro shortened the lead to 77:80 (40th minute) with another run.
Only late in the evening (8.45 p.m. / MagentaSport) will it be decided against whom the semi-final ticket is at stake. The German team will probably have a much higher caliber, the Greeks around Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks) are the clear favorites against the Czechs in the last round of 16.
The DBB team is in the quarterfinals for the second time in a row. In 2017, a defeat against Spain (72:84) prevented them from reaching the semifinals. The third European Championship medal after gold in 1993 and silver in 2005 is to be in Berlin.