Nuremberg (AP) – The German national team only had limited fun in the thrilling basketball thriller in Nuremberg. “We would have preferred a different outcome, but that’s sport. That’s why we love the sport, «said veteran Bastian Doreth after the 66:69 defeat against outsider Estonia. The fact that seven NBA players and other Euroleague players were not available due to deadlines may be used as an excuse: but not for a home bankruptcy against the Estonians, who are rather unknown in basketball.
“It’s disappointing for us. We made a lot of threesomes. We fought well defensively. We had big problems on the offensive – moving the ball and hitting our throws, «stated the new national coach Gordon Herbert, who had certainly expected his debut differently. Three and a half months after the Olympic quarter-finals were reached in Tokyo under Henrik Rödl, qualification for the 2023 World Cup started with a low blow.
Top scorer Christian Sengfelder (21 points) saw it that way too. “We haven’t made enough of our options,” said the Bamberg professional. Everyone is disappointed. The Herbert team is already under a lot of pressure for the next qualification game in Poland on Sunday evening (8 p.m. / Magentasport). The 62-year-old has to improve his performance despite the many failures.
When asked whether at least a few Euroleague players could join the team for the second game, Herbert answered briefly: “No.” The Poles also surprisingly lost their opening game on Thursday evening: 61:69 in Israel. From the group of four, three teams advance to the next round. A total of twelve European teams will qualify for the 2023 final tournament in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 211125-99-145908 / 5
Homepage of the world basketball association Fiba
.
