Saitama (AP) – The first big surprise of the Olympic tournament followed Germany’s basketball players at dinner.
On a laptop in the cafeteria in the Olympic village, they saw together how gold favorite USA lost to France in the first tournament game for the first time in 17 years at the summer games. The star ensemble from the NBA actually wants to win the fourth gold in a row in Tokyo and must now increase significantly. The selection of the German Basketball Federation is under pressure after its opening failure against Italy. A win against Nigeria is due on Wednesday (3:00 a.m. CEST).
«Have to minimize the errors»
“We have to minimize the mistakes, then we have a chance to win against everyone,” said captain Robin Benzing. The Germans played well for 37 minutes on Sunday, but in the end they lost quite a bit 82:92 in their first Olympic game since 2008. Now they rely on their team spirit. “We all know each other, we are a funny group that get along very well,” said Maodo Lo: “That is our strength. We have to bring this quality to light now and find our game against Nigeria as well as possible. “
The starting point is clear: Italy and Australia have a victory in the preliminary round group B, Germany and Nigeria are still without counting. At least one success is required to reach the quarter-finals, two would be better. The first two will certainly advance, plus two of the three thirds in the group. “We don’t have to hide from anyone,” said Benzing. At the end of the coming Saturday it will be against the strong fourth place in the World Cup, Australia.
Against Nigeria under pressure
But what can we expect from Nigeria? The Africans compete with eight professionals from the North American professional league NBA, only the USA have more in their twelve-man squad in Japan. But none of the Nigerians are the top performers in the strongest league in the world. There was also a lack of teamwork during the first appearance in the Saitama Super Arena against Australia (67:84). But: Underestimating the young team would be a big mistake.
“Every team that plays here plays here for a reason, because they have a very, very good team,” said starter Joshiko Saibou. And national coach Henrik Rödl also knows: “We have to regroup and find our strengths in order to survive against Nigeria. It’s a very tough group. ” Nevertheless, the goal remains to make it into the round of the top eight. The entry into the knockout round was not successful in 2008 in Beijing with superstar Dirk Nowitzki.
For the USA, the qualification should only be a matter of form despite the 76:83 against France. In Group A there are still games against the blatant outsiders Iran and the Czech Republic. The second competitive defeat in a row – they were eliminated early in the quarter-finals at the 2019 World Cup – still hurt a lot. “We still have a chance to achieve our goal here,” said NBA professional Jrue Holiday from NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks. As in 2008, 2012 and 2016, the USA should end up against an Olympic victory.
“They are better individually,” said the Frenchman Evan Fournier. The 28-year-old from the Boston Celtics confidently led the 2013 European champions to the success they deserved with 28 points and later revealed the secret of success: “As a team, you can beat them.”
