Riga (dpa)-After his grandiose appearance, Dennis Schröder chatted with his Finnish opponents, then he clapped in the direction of the fans: Germany impressively made the leap into the final at the European Casketball European Championship and can win the next big title two years after the sensational World Cup triumph by Manila.
But after the semi -finals won and the already secure medal did not want to arise. «We are not finished, the focus is on Sunday. We can be happy, »said interim national coach Alan Ibrahimagic after 98:86 against Finland in Riga. Leader Schröder said at RTL: “Getting into the final is the best feeling. We did a good job and checked the game. »
The team around NBA star Franz Wagner and Schröder made the first German European Championship final in 20 years-at that time there was silver for Dirk Nowitzki and his team. “Finaaale !!!”, Nowitzki wrote on Friday after the sovereign victory over the Finns at X. Schröder added: “We want to win a game now to get the gold medal.”
Wagner: “We have to celebrate that”
World champion Moritz Wagner was also enthusiastic. «This is a great team that is in the final. We have to celebrate that. This is a team that really deserves – it belongs there, »said the NBA professional, who is missing after a cruciate ligament tear and works as an expert in magenta.
In the final, the Ibrahimagic team will meet Turkey on Sunday (8:00 p.m./RTL and Magenta Sport). The Turks won their semi-finals against Greece with NBA star Giannis Antetocounmpo surprisingly clearly with 94:68 (49:31). In preparation, Germany had just become 73:71 against Turkey at the Supercup in Munich. Against Finland, Schröder and Wagner were the best German launchers with 26 and 22 points. Schröder also contributed twelve templates in front of 10,047 spectators.
Like the Golden Generation of Spain, Germany can cope with the union of world and European championship titles on Sunday. «I am incredibly happy, incredibly proud of the team. We have reached our minimum goal – the minimum goal was that we have a medal. We can enjoy that tonight, »said Center Daniel Theis.
EM semi-final 2022, World Cup title 2023, fourth Olympic in 2024 and now in the European Championship final-Germany’s basketball players are experiencing the most successful era in its history. “We are one of the best teams in the world, we have proven enough,” Wagner said before the semi -finals. He and his team impressively confirmed the impression in the Latvian capital.
Clear victory against Finland in the preliminary round
In the group phase in the Finnish Tampere, Germany had already outclassed the co-EM host with 91:61. But that didn’t matter in the heads of the Germans. «The victory from the preliminary round no longer counts. Finland will have the first game in mind, they will want to retire, »said Center Daniel Theis.
The situation was strongly reminiscent of the disappointing Olympic Games last year. At the Olympics, too, the German team was celebrated in the preliminary round against host France after a gala, in order to fail in the second meeting with the French in the semi -finals and later stand up without a medal.
«I still remember the games against the French. We took it a bit on our shoulder and switched it off – this time we shouldn’t happen to us, »Captain Schröder warned.
Weak start
And yet the world champion slept again in Riga as in the two games. The Finns, who were in the semi -finals for the first time at an EM, started with euphoria and pulled driven by thousands of Finnish fans in the arena to 14: 6.
In contrast, not much went together in Germany, Franz Wagner put his first four throws next to it. But the German team stayed calm and increased. Schröder met with a threesome, then Wagner stuffed the ball into the basket by dark. The German attack machinery was now rolling.
Schröder and Wagner lead team
At the fins, however, the litters were no longer as good as in the first five minutes. After the first quarter, Germany was ahead with four points (30:26) and continuously expanded its lead afterwards. In the meantime, the world champion had left 19 points (49:30). Suddenly Wagner even hit his litters from a distance – Germany led to the break with 14 points.
After the change of sides, the Finns tried everything again and shortened to six points (73:79). Germany wobbled briefly, but remained cool and, led by Schröder, who already had a double double in the middle of the third quarter.
And that despite the fact that Ibrahimagic only had ten players at their disposal because, in addition to Johannes Voigtmann (knee operation), Justus Hollatz also failed with a foot injury. However, both followed the final entry from Deutsche Bank, where the still healthy national coach Alex Mumbru also sat.
Worth a look
