Dome celebrated their old master, the others listened to their captain. While Spain’s players threw Rudy Fernandez, 37, in the air singing and dancing, Dennis Schröder brought his team together in the center circle. The point guard, the best thrower of the game with 30 points, said a few words to his teammates, who had collapsed after the final siren. The dream of gold at the European Championships was shattered in an exciting game.
“Keep your head down, boys. Get bronze”, Dirk Nowitzki encouraged the German team after the bitter 91:96 (51:46). However, the disappointment among the players was palpable in the mixed zone. Daniel Theis shuffled past the reporters in flip-flops; he didn’t want to talk. Franz Wagner, who had been Schröder’s sidekick in the second half with 15 points, looked blankly for an explanation for the defeat against Spain: “Of course, every game you lose hurts. Just at home. But that’s how it is in sports. That’s part of it and it will make us better,” said the 21-year-old. Then he disappeared into the catacombs with his head bowed.
“We definitely could have won that. We lost our position. The Spaniards were really tough and played very well”, Schröder paid tribute to the opponent and then fulfilled his role as leader of the German team again: “The tournament is not over, we still have one game to play. With these guys in the dressing room, I’ll take on any opponent. I love the boys.” On Sunday (5:15 p.m., Magentasport and RTL), Germany will play Poland in the bronze medal game. The goal of getting a medal is still achievable, Schröder emphasized several times, almost sounding a little defiant.
The fact that the Spanish team, from which Lorenzo Brown stood out with 29 points and many important goals, was not able to score a big hit was mainly due to a tactical move by Sergio Scariolo, the world champion’s coach. A special role was played by Alberto Diaz, who in tears said after the game: “To experience this game here is incredible.” The redhead had conquered the heart of Spain, it was said in the Spanish media shortly after reaching the final.
No German noise at the beginning
The prelude: The German team started the game much calmer than it was against Greece. This was also due to the fact that Spain defended aggressively from the first second and did not give Germany a chance to score three. So Germany couldn’t play itself into a frenzy again and heat up the audience. Towards the end of the first quarter, Germany achieved two highlights: First, Schröder served center Daniel Theis, who pushed the ball out of the air into the ring (7th), then Maodo Lo almost scored from the middle line to 24:27 from a German perspective as the quarter was running out .
Dennis Schroeder: Schröder proved once again that he has evolved on the field. In the first half, the point guard carried the team on his shoulders without losing sight of his teammates. Regardless of whether it was a threesome, layup or assist, Schröder delivered. At the break he had hit seven of his nine shots (19 points). After the break, the 29-year-old led another 14-0 run for the Germans, and MVP calls rang out from the stands. In the final quarter, however, Schröder only scored two points, which was mainly due to the Spaniards.
Scariolo’s move
Germany caused the Spanish defense serious problems up until the second half. Either Schröder indicated a move to the basket against the Spanish zone, passed the ball out and was happy about a three from Andreas Obst, or the German point guard took over himself pull basket.
Then the Spain coach put his point guard Alberto Diaz on Schröder. With the rest of the team defending in one zone, Diaz aggressively worked the German leader all over the field despite having to play three fouls for a long time. The Germans found no answer in the final phase. When Diaz fouled out just before the end, the chain dog was wildly celebrated by his teammates on the bench. Proof of his outstanding performance: in the time that the 28-year-old was on the floor, Spain scored 25 points more than Germany.
Spanish Efficiency: Whenever Germany seemed to have gained control of the game, Spain played out their attacks with deadly precision and caught up again. Well into the third quarter, the Scariolo team’s shooting quota was an incredible 73 percent. When Germany had already pulled away to seven points in the final quarter, three perfectly played attacks followed, at the end of which the Iberians sank a free throw. In addition, Spain kept their nerves of steel even in the tight final phase at the free-throw line: the world champion went to the line fourteen times and the ball slipped through the net fourteen times.
The decision
In the decisive minutes of the game, it seemed as if the importance of the historic chance paralyzed the German players. The ball was passed back and forth, but nobody wanted to throw it at the basket. The Herbert team remained without a point for more than three minutes, while Spain pulled away to 88:80 with eight points in a row. Especially in the big positions there was little on the German side: Johannes Voigtmann hardly played on the offensive (two throws), Theis seemed unhappy in many situations in the final phase on the ring. After the outstanding Diaz had to go to the bench with his fifth foul, Obst and Lo scored two more desperate threes. But a dunking by Juancho Hernangomez from a long throw sealed Spain’s victory.
Another chance: “We have to sort ourselves out and be ready again on Sunday,” Gordon Herbert demanded after the shattered dream of the title. The defense against Spain was “not good enough”. Now Germany meets Poland in the match for third place. The Polish team had lost its semi-final early on Friday evening with a hopeless defeat 54:95. The bronze medal would be a conciliatory end to a tournament that was strong from a German point of view over long stretches.
