By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
In view of Germany securing a ticket to the next round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers, the German Basketball Federation released a list of 16 players for the games versus Estonia in Tallinn and Poland in Bremen on 30 June and 3 July, respectively.
The list of players available for Germany national team selector Gordon Herbert is highlighted by Dennis Schroder. Fellow NBA player Isaac Bonga was summoned as well. Both players are set to become free agents during the offseason.
Schroder, 28, averaged 10.9 points, 5.9 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per contest finishing the 2021-22 season with the Houston Rockets. He had started the Regular Season at the Boston Celtics following previous stints attached to the Los Angeles Lakers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Atlanta Hawks. He last played for the Germany national team in the 2019 World Cup.
Bonga, 22, averaged 0.9 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 assists per 2021-22 game for the Toronto Raptors. Previous NBA experience included the Lakers and Washington Wizards. His last appearance at the international level was in last year’s Olympic Games.
The 16-man squad:
Robin Benzing (Fortitudo Kigili Bologna)
Isaac Bonga (Toronto Raptors)
Malte Delow (Alba Berlin)
Bastian Doreth (medi Bayreuth)
Justus Hollatz (Rio Breogan)
Michael Kessens (Telekom Baskets Bonn)
Leon Kratzer (Telekom Baskets Bonn)
David Kramer (Basketball Lowen Braunschweig)
Jonas Mattisseck (Alba Berlin)
Kostja Mushidi (Syntainics MBC)
Kenneth Ogbe (Brose Bamberg)
Dennis Schroder (Houston Rockets)
Christian Sengfelder (Brose Bamberg)
Johannes Voigtmann
Lukas Wank (Fraport Skyliners)
Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg)
Germany currently leads Group D behind a 3-1 W-L tally. Israel and Estonia are tied at 2-2, while Poland sits at 1-3. The top three sides will progress to the next round and search for a place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup via Group J. The next stage will begin in late August, before the 2022 EuroBasket.
Germany is set to host both Group B of the preliminary stage and the entire knockout phase of the upcoming EuroBasket. Herbert’s team will take on France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Hungary in Cologne through the first week of September aiming to travel to Berlin along with the remaining national teams making the Round of 16.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL