By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
A big night of basketball in Cologne ended with a triumph. After Dirk Nowitzki’s German national team jersey retirement (with the presence of Mark Cuban, Jason Kidd, Mike Finley, and Luka Doncic), Germany made local fans even happier by beating France 76-63.
After the win against Slovenia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, the Germans prove they are the real deal.
Maodo Lo (13 points and 5 assists) and Dennis Schroder (11 points and 5 assists) are certainly among the best of their team with their creative moves, but Niels Giffey (13 points and 4 rebounds), and especially Johannes Thiemann (14 points and 6 rebounds) as well deserve the distinction.
Rudy Gobert closed the night with a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds for France, while Guerschon Yabusele scored 18. “It was a tough loss against a tough team, they played well. One of our weaknesses today was the turnovers: at halftime, we had 11 of them. When we tried to come back, they lead again and it was hard for us. We didn’t show up, let’s try to focus on the game against Lithuania“, he said.
“We didn’t start the right way. We did well at first on the defensive side, but we gave too many opportunities to Germany. We started very well the second half, but then we couldn’t keep the rhythm”, Vincent Collet added.
The two teams started the game cold. After four minutes, France was leading only 3-0 with 1/7 from the field, while Germany was 0/5 and while the pace picked up, scoring was low.
Pushed by its audience in a stacked Cologne Arena, the German national team went to halftime leading 31-38. The defense was the key with Lo and Schroder creating havoc that ultimately translated to 17 turnovers for France, and 10 steals by Germany.
Coach Herbert’s boys played more carefree, closing the third quarter at 43-57 and having things under control until the end of the game.
France and Germany, after tonight’s match, will play in two days. For the French team, it is already quite a decisive game against Lithuania at 17:15, while the Germans will challenge at 14:30 Bosnia; Dzanan Musa and teammates won today against Hungary.