By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
The return of Dirk Nowitzki in the German national team ended up with a win. Germany beat Iceland (71-65) and the only bad news came from Robin Benzing’s injury.
Head coach of Germany, Chris Fleming, was satisfied with the team’s performance: ”The games that require the most concentration are the first one and the last one and I am really glad we got off on the right foot. The guys were very good defensively for most of the game and we took away the transition baskets from Iceland.”
The duo of Nowitzki (15 p., 7 r.) and Dennis Schroder (15 p., 6 r., 4 as.) led the way as Germany had a 41-26 first half lead and never looked back. Iceland got back late in the game in the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to six (69-63) behind 23 points and 5 assists by Jon Steffansson. Iceland tried its best, when the hosts of Group B decided that the game was over, got a partial 20-10 score in the first eight minutes of the last quarter.
”Our game plan was to eliminate as much as possible their shots close to the basket but they executed their plays well and hurt us in the second half. We didn’t do anything wrong on defence, they just had a 7-footer being checked by a 6-foot guard,” Iceland’s head coach Craig Pedersen said.
However, Germany didn’t let Iceland get any closer in the last two minutes and the question now is the condition of Benzing who rolled his ankle.