Despite a strong captain Dennis Schröder, the German basketball players suffered their first defeat in preparation for their World Cup medal mission. On Sunday, the national team lost the second endurance test in the final of the Supercup in Hamburg against fellow World Cup favorites Canada with 112:113 (101:101, 49:45) after extra time. Only four days earlier, the Germans had defeated the North Americans in Berlin 86:81.
Schröder was the hosts’ best thrower in the last test on German soil with 26 points. The defeat against the Canadians around NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the first after three Test victories on the way to the World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines. Only on Saturday did the hosts outclass China in the Supercup semifinals with 107:58.
After the Supercup, the national players get two days off before they go to Abu Dhabi for two more friendlies against Greece and the USA (19/20 August). The World Cup (until September 10th) begins for the Germans on August 25th in Okinawa against hosts Japan. Other opponents in the difficult preliminary round group are Australia and Finland.
The Chinese had dominated Schröder and Co. at will for 40 minutes on Saturday, dunks and spectacular three-pointers rained down, but the Asians were not a real touchstone for the World Cup. Unlike Canada. National player Maodo Lo predicted with a view to the first duel: “It will be a different game.”
He should be right. Unlike in Berlin, when the Canadians let the Germans play in the first half, they now held back powerfully. Although Franz Wagner shone early on with a dunk and a three-pointer for a 10:5 lead, Canada put constant pressure on the defense on the hosts, who sometimes had to take difficult throws. But seemingly unimpressed by this, David Krämer, who only slipped into the World Cup squad at the last minute, hit a wild threesome to make it 26:20 with the final siren of the first quarter.
Kramer’s highlight throw, which brought the Inselparkhalle to a boil, was part of a 10-0 run that threatened to pull away from Germany, just like in Berlin. But the Canadians didn’t play along this time and reliably collected their points after German turnovers and from the line of three. Canada’s NBA pro RJ Barret in particular was difficult to get under control, while Schröder on the other side became more and more present, dribbled quickly to the basket and drew fouls. Thanks to a three-pointer from Johannes Voigtmann, the DBB team went into half-time with a four-point lead.
After the break, Schröder really turned up the heat, the leader hit two threes in a very short time and extended the lead to ten points. A slump in the third quarter, so the Herbert team in Berlin almost lost a comfortable lead, Germany did not afford this time.
Instead, the Germans gave up their 87:78 lead this time in the final quarter. Schröder, who had to go on the bench with his fifth foul, saw Canada crawl back and turn the game around in the last two minutes thanks to the outstanding Rj Barrett (31 points) and forced extra time. There, the North Americans ultimately kept their nerves.
2023-08-14 04:00:32
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