It can be assumed that Gordon Herbert has not heard of the world-famous Bayern Dusel. Maybe the national basketball coach should still think about sending his three world champions from FC Bayern a little thank you to Munich, because the draw for the groups for the Olympic basketball tournament in Paris went well for the world champion.
In the preliminary round, which will be held in Lille, the German basketball players in Group B will meet hosts France with basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama, Japan and the winner of the qualifying tournament in Riga, Latvia. The hosts as well as Georgia, Montenegro, the Philippines, Brazil and Cameroon are fighting for the vacant place in this group.
Because of the World Cup last September, the Latvians have to be seen as favorites, as they were a surprise team that almost ruined Germany’s title win in the quarter-finals. But the last Latvian throw went very wrong, Germany won 81:79 – the rest is World Cup history. At the Olympics, the two best in the group and the two best third-place teams travel to Paris for the knockout round, a feasible task for world champions Germany.
Group A, in which Canada and Australia meet, two teams made up of NBA players, is much more difficult. There are also the winners of the qualifying tournaments in Spain and Greece. While in Valencia it is likely to come down to former world champion Spain, the outcome in Piraeus is as exciting as it is open: In addition to New Zealand and Croatia, both basketball nations with tradition, the Greeks are playing around Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Slovenians are playing around Luka Doncic, who is currently playing one Breaking one NBA record after another to get a ticket to Lille. The fans will certainly have to do without one of these top players.
The USA are defending champions and want to erase their World Cup disgrace against Germany. All NBA greats have signed up for this
The USA are in Group C – and the defending champions have already announced that they will use all NBA greats to erase the disgrace in Manila, when Germany knocked the Americans out of the World Cup in a memorable semi-final. In addition, World Cup runners-up Serbia are playing for the knockout round with the eternal Svetislav Pesic in the dugout, as are South Sudan and the winner of the qualifying tournament in Puerto Rico, where Italy and Lithuania are the favorites.
Gordon Herbert has declared a medal in Paris as his goal, after bronze at the European Championships and the World Cup title last year, a realistic goal for his team that would crown the three-year plan he has put out. Captain Dennis Schröder, voted best player of the tournament at the World Cup, has already recalled the commitment made by all players to this plan. The coach shouldn’t change too much in the personnel around the NBA quartet with Schröder, the Wagner brothers Franz and Moritz and Daniel Theis.
Nevertheless, there are strong replacements in Oscar da Silva and Nick Weiler-Babb, who missed the World Cup due to an injury. Incidentally, Weiler-Babb plays for FC Bayern – and Fortuna’s role should never be underestimated in such tournaments.
The German basketball players had less luck, as they had to compete against Olympic champions and world champions USA, European champions Belgium and strong Japanese women. The mode is the same as for the men, but one should not underestimate the German selection around the Sabally sisters Satou and Nyara. The team led by national coach Lisa Thomaidis had already shown strong performances in their first successful Olympic qualification.
2024-03-20 13:50:20
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