Basketball Dennis Schroeder
Weak Point Victory – “Probably the worst game I’ve ever played”
As of: 4:28 p.m. | Reading time: 4 minutes
German basketball players triumph in the World Cup quarterfinals against Latvia
The German basketball players are in a World Cup semi-final for the first time in more than 20 years and are challenging top favorites USA. Captain Dennis Schröder’s team beat Latvia 81-79 in the quarter-finals in Manila.
Germany fights against Latvia in the semi-finals of the Basketball World Cup. Top favorites USA are waiting there for Gordon Herbert’s team on Friday. Then a significant increase in performance is required. Especially from Dennis Schröder, who had a bad day against the Latvians.
The ball was in the air for what felt like an eternity. Latvia’s Davis Bertans shot from beyond the three-point line two seconds before the end of the game in the World Cup quarterfinals against Germany. The litter decided on advancement and elimination. He clapped the ring and from there back into the field. The German national basketball team was the winner and, after a hard-fought 81:79, made it into the semi-finals of the world championship. The top favorite USA is waiting there for Gordon Herbert’s team on Friday (2.40 p.m. / Magentasport).
After reaching the semi-finals for the first time at a World Cup in 21 years, the German basketball players gave each other a high five, and Dennis Schröder, who was unlucky this time, shook his head in disbelief. After the hard-fought quarter-finals, only one win from two games is missing from the second medal in German World Cup history.
In the huge Mall of Asia Arena, Germany could even afford a poor performance from Captain Schröder (just nine points) to claim their sixth win in six World Cup games. The Toronto Raptors point guard hit just four of 26 attempts from the field, an underground rate for the German team’s superstar.
Six games, six wins: Germany celebrates entering the World Cup semi-finals
Quelle: dpa/Aaron Favila
“That was probably the worst game I’ve ever played,” said Schröder honestly afterwards. “Dennis had a difficult game. The fact that we still win the game distinguishes this team,” said colleague Andreas Obst after the nail-biter. “It’s a great feeling to be in the semi-finals now.” National coach Herbert defended Schröder. “Dennis is human, he had a tough game. Our second unit carried us today and turned the game around.”
The Wagner brothers stand in for Schröder
As the only undefeated team at this World Cup, Schröder and Co. will challenge star coach Steve Kerr’s Olympic champion on Friday and fight for the first World Cup finals. “We played against them once in preparation and made up 35 minutes. We’ll have to play better than we did today,” said Herbert, looking ahead to the duel against the USA. In the run-up to the World Cup, Abu Dhabi suffered a narrow defeat in a friendly after a long lead.
also read
The Herbert selection had a lot of trouble against the Latvians, who had previously knocked out world champions Spain and European runners-up France. “But we played well together as a team, that made the difference in the end,” said Franz Wagner.
Dennis Schröder only scored four of his 26 attempts against Latvia. Nevertheless, Germany is in the World Cup semi-finals
Source: dpa/Michael Conroy
When the young star made his comeback, it wasn’t Schröder who carried the German team this time. In addition to the returnee Wagner (16 points), his brother Moritz (12) and three-point specialist Obst (13) also convinced. As the day progressed, the win became even more valuable than just reaching the semi-finals. With Canada’s subsequent 100:89 (50:50) success in the World Cup quarterfinals over Slovenia, Germany has now even qualified early for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
Franz Wagner returned after his injury in the opening game and convinced
Quelle: AFP/JAM STA ROSA
The first positive news was already before the game started: Wagner, who had been injured for a week and a half, reported fit for the sporting comeback after a tough ankle injury. “Francis is ready. I don’t see any limitation in the minutes. We want to bring him into the game as early as possible and then we’ll look at it from there,” announced Herbert.
Schröder misses his first twelve attempts
The 64-year-old left Isaac Bonga in the starting lineup and brought Wagner off the bench after around five minutes. However, he did not seem to be as mobile as before the incident in the opening game against Japan. In the meantime, the favorite was 3:13 behind.
Schröder also seemed strangely inhibited. The 29-year-old playmaker, who had excelled in the strong previous World Cup appearances, made several minor mistakes and missed simple lay-ups. Schröder missed all of his first twelve throws and went into the break with zero points. Latvia as a surprise team turned out to be the expected tough test even without the missing star Kristaps Porzingis.
also read
Above all, the NBA professional Davis Bertans, who was outstanding that afternoon, repeatedly presented Germany with major problems with his long-distance throws. Schröder and Co. made a nervous impression and played much weaker than in the five previous games of the preliminary and intermediate round. But in the end, with a lot of fighting and an energetic performance, it was enough for the sixth victory. The dream of the World Cup medal lives on.
Advertisement
Save on sports equipment with a WELT advantage: Adidas voucher
