Dhe German basketball players suffered the second defeat in the third game in the European Championship qualification. Without the players of the Euroleague teams Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin as well as the NBA stars around Dennis Schröder, the selection of the German Basketball Association lost against Montenegro on Friday evening in Pau, France, 74:80 (39:38). The defeat is not of great importance for the German team, however, since Germany is already qualified as part of the host of the European Championship, which has been postponed from 2021 to 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then a preliminary group in Cologne and the final in Berlin should take place.
Because of the Corona crisis, the games in this international match window will take place in a so-called bubble in France. The best German thrower against Montenegro was captain Robin Benzing with 21 points, Andreas Obst from Ulm had 17 points. On Sunday, Germany will face host and group favorite France. The French won in the other game of the day against the team from Great Britain with 79:56. In February Germany had surprisingly won against France in Vechta with 83:69.
Young and inexperienced team
The young and inexperienced German team showed a courageous performance from the start. Fruit in particular did not need a long start-up time and with three successful three-point throws ensured an early 11: 8 lead. After the first quarter, the German team had gained a narrow lead (24:18). In the second section, however, the intensity on the defensive decreased, and in some phases the team also noticed that they had never played together in this constellation. In Lukas Meisner from Basketball Löwen Braunschweig and Kenneth Ogbe from Brose Bamberg, two players celebrated their debut in the national jersey.
Montenegro now improved and even took the lead in the middle of the second quarter (35:33). But Germany proved resilient and was just ahead at the break (39:38). But the DBB selection kept getting problems, especially under the basket. The Germans were often not attentive enough, especially on the defensive. “We need the rebounds”, demanded national coach Henrik Rödl loudly during a break in the middle of the third quarter. The German team braced themselves against the defeat until the end, but in the end it was not enough.
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