Dhe German national basketball team suffered the second defeat in the third game in the preliminary round, but can still make it into the quarter-finals of the Olympic Games for the first time since 1992. After the 76:89 (40:44) against Australia on Saturday, it was enough for the team of national coach Henrik Rödl when outsiders Czech Republic suffered a defeat with more than two points difference against gold favorite USA in the evening.
Even then, the selection of the German Basketball Association in Tokyo would come third in Group B into the round of the top eight and meet the winner of Group A (France) or C (Slovenia or Spain) in Japan on Tuesday. The draw will take place on Sunday.
Strong start, weak end
Should the Czech Republic win sensationally against the Americans, it is still very likely that the rifle will help them advance on Sunday. Despite the disappointment at the end of the preliminary round, everything looks as if the team, unlike the last Olympic participation in Beijing in 2008 with Dirk Nowitzki, would not fail in the preliminary round. In Saitama, Andreas Obst (17 points) was the best German thrower against Australia, who was unbeaten in Japan, fourth in the World Cup.
After their victories against Italy and Nigeria, the Australians appeared confident. Above all, NBA veteran Patty Mills from the San Antonio Spurs took on responsibility, but could not prevent the strong German start. With 15:10 the DBB-selection led and benefited above all from their well-thought-out offensive. While Australia had to do without the injured NBA professional Aron Baynes, Maodo Lo and Co. convinced with their good team play.
This brought the first win against Nigeria on Wednesday. At the beginning, the team had led against Italy for a long time, but gave away a success in the weak final phase. Even before the jump ball it was clear that Nigeria would be eliminated after three bankruptcies and that Germany was at least third in group B in the preliminary round.
But in the Super Arena, which actually holds 16,000 spectators, nobody wanted to get involved in arithmetic games in the DBB selection. The second victory was the clear goal, which was quickly noticeable on the floor. 22:18 the DBB team led after the first quarter, more than 70 percent of the throwing attempts found their way into the basket. That changed in the second section. Small mistakes and bad decisions in attack ensured that the Boomers took the lead again (33:31).
Australia, which wants to win the first Olympic medal in Tokyo, did not appear as confidently as in previous games for a long time. Although they moved away by ten points for the first time after the break (50:40), Germany immediately equalized with a 10-0 run (50:50). In the final quarter, however, the resistance was broken. In the final minutes, the encounter was completely muddled and characterized by many missed throws, so that the Australians were still able to win safely.
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