World Cup intermediate round
Fourth victory: basketball players maintain a perfect World Cup record
01.09.2023, 12:26 | Reading time: 4 minutes Patrick Reichardt and Lars Reinefeld, dpa
Isaac Bonga (l) and Johannes Voigtmann (M) celebrated the next victory with the DBB team.
Photo: Hiro Komae/AP/dpa
The German basketball players stay on course at the World Cup in Asia. Schröder and Co. also defy the physical Georgians in Okinawa. It is now possible to advance without doing anything on your own.
Okinawa. The German basketball players have extended their starting record at the World Cup in Asia and are clearly on course for the finals in Manila.
Captain Dennis Schröder’s team won 100-73 (43-41) against outsiders Georgia in Okinawa, Japan, and now has four wins from four tournament games on their side. Schröder himself scored 16 points at the start of the second round, but had to sit out in the closing stages due to an injury. The point guard left the hall briefly, but then at least returned to the bench. The strong bank around Maodo Lo (18), Moritz Wagner (14) and Johannes Thiemann (11) became the trump card against the robust Georgians.
Group win within reach
The ticket for the quarterfinals is not solved even after four wins. However, Germany can only be eliminated in a complicated three-way comparison with Slovenia and Australia. If the fifth success in a row is achieved on Sunday (1.10 p.m. / Magentasport) at the end of the games in Japan against the Slovenians around star player Luka Doncic, the group victory is perfect.
Even a victory for the Slovenians against Australia would mean the German progress. In Manila, the team of national coach Gordon Herbert would not only be about World Cup medals, but also about direct qualification for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
On the Japanese holiday island, where many beaches remained empty on Friday due to an imminent typhoon, Herbert is fully committed to victory in every game. “It’s too complicated for me. We’ll take one game after the other,” said the Canadian before the Georgia game on “Magentasport” about all the arithmetic games that were circulating.
Franz Wagner is missing again
The boss was once again without young star Franz Wagner, who missed the other three games after suffering an ankle injury in the opening game against Japan. The 22-year-old has increased the load throughout the week and could be back on Sunday against Slovenia. A decision on this should be made on Saturday.
In front of 5852 spectators, who were presented with songs by Bushido, 50 Cent and Rammstein by the indoor DJ, the German team had similar starting problems as they did in the ultimately sovereign 101:75 over Finland two days earlier. The first five didn’t initially work as desired because NBA star Schröder was again closely guarded and Andreas Obst and co-captain Johannes Voigtmann were unable to provide any impetus at the start.
When Herbert brought the entire bank into play during the first quarter, things got a lot better. Moritz Wagner and Thiemann provided energy and rebounds under the basket, which were urgently needed against the Georgian towers Goga Bitadze (2.11 meters) and Giorgi Schermadini (2.17 meters). Bonga, otherwise known for his strong defense and athleticism, was so neglected by the Georgian defense that he contributed three three-pointers.
Clear bonga increase
Bonga’s clear improvement at the World Cup helps the German team to compensate for the loss of hopeful Wagner. In the second half, Obst then turned up the heat and let the German team pull away. The defense also improved noticeably.
The European Championship third is gaining more and more status as a title contender in Japan. The success over Georgia was the seventh German World Cup win in a row across all tournaments – that too is a record. But three of them date from 2019, when Germany had already been eliminated and had to go into the placement round.
The final round from the quarterfinals will be played completely in Manila from Tuesday. In addition to Germany, Olympic champions USA, world champions Spain and Canada are traded as favourites.
( © dpa-infocom, dpa:230901-99-38373/2 (dpa) )
2023-09-01 10:26:39
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