Nyara and Satou Sabally in focus
Two sisters make Germany dream
November 13, 2023, 3:43 p.m
Nyara and Satou Sabally’s first two appearances together for the German national basketball team make you want more. It will be important for the sisters if they are to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in the spring.
Autograph here, selfie there – after her somewhat bumpy comeback, Satou Sabally soaked up the love of the many German fans like a sponge. “I saw the joy on their faces, even though I didn’t have the greatest game. That really makes my heart swell,” said Germany’s best basketball player after the national team’s 53:70 defeat in the (insignificant sporting) European Championship qualifier against Italy. She described the moments in Hamburg as “very special” and “very unique”.
After four years, Sabally is back in the national team – and with her the hope of great success. Three days after the easy 85:41 win against the Czech Republic, the DBB team suffered a noticeable setback on Sunday. In the last tough test before the all-important Olympic qualifying tournament in February, national coach Lisa Thomaidis’ team still showed plenty of room for improvement.
“You have to clean up a few things,” said Sabally, the exceptional player from the WNBA, who immediately became the best German scorer with 21 points (Czech Republic) and 11 (Italy). The talent in the team is undoubtedly there, “but we still need to come together more.” In general, says the Berliner, “we can go into February with confidence. We have great prospects.”
“We’ll tear it down in February”
Nyara Sabally, Satou’s sister who is two years younger, is also part of this perspective. She celebrated her international debut for Germany last week and showed her huge potential with 17 and 12 points in the eagerly awaited first Sister Act. The situation among women is similar to that among German men, where the brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner play a decisive role in the success.
“It takes a while when two new people join and they are also in the top five,” said Nyara Sabally, but was confident despite the obvious coordination problems: “We just have to keep going. The chemistry will come. We are all good ones Female basketball players, that will happen at some point.”
There isn’t much time left. The qualifying tournament in Belem, Brazil, will take place from February 8th to 11th. In a difficult group of four with the hosts, Serbia and Australia, at least third place is needed. “The dream is huge,” said Nyara Sabally. She rated the chances of being in Paris next summer as “very realistic”. “I believe in every single person in our team that we will pull it off in February. And that is also the goal. We are going there with our heads up – and we will pull it off.”
In the coming weeks, however, the German team will only meet via Zoom meetings. The players are now required to return to their clubs. The next adventure for Satou Sabally began on Monday: After her short stopover with the national team, the star player of the Dallas Wings went to China for her next engagement with the Shandong Six Stars.