By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Moving into the offseason portion of official games, Germany gets back captain Dennis Schroder.
Schroder, 28, will play against Sweden in Stockholm, the German Basketball Federation announced a few hours ahead of the game tonight, Thursday. Favored by the additional time to recover in Germany, the NBA free agent traveled separately to Sweden yesterday and was eventually medically cleared to return to action.
After missing the last tuneup contest due to an ankle injury, he will help the senior national team of his country in the 2023 FIBA World Cup European Qualifiers Group J opener. Back on home soil and wrapping up FIBA’s international window, Germany will host Slovenia and Luka Doncic in Munich Sunday.
Besides injured Daniel Theis, both David Kramer and Leon Kratzer have been ruled out of the game against Sweden. The Indiana Pacers center is in danger of being forced out of the 2022 EuroBasket as well. Isaac Bonga, Maxi Kleber, and Moe Wagner are confirmed notable absences for the team coached by Gordon Herbert.
Germany’s remaining selections:
Niels Giffey
Justus Hollatz (Rio Breogan)
David Kramer (Basketball Lowen Braunschweig)
Leon Kratzer (Telekom Baskets Bonn)
Maodo Lo (Alba Berlin)
Andreas Obst (FC Bayern Munich)
Gavin Schilling (Limoges CSP)
Dennis Schroder
Christian Sengfelder (Brose Bamberg)
Daniel Theis (Indiana Pacers)
Johannes Thiemann (Alba Berlin)
Johannes Voigtmann
Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic)
Nick Weiler-Babb (FC Bayern Munich)
Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (Hamburg Towers)
Reduced to a 12-man squad, Germany will switch to Group B of EuroBasket’s preliminary round in September. Welcoming France, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Lithuania, Slovenia, and Hungary in Cologne shapes the schedule and the opportunity for a berth in the knockout stage of the tournament to be held in Berlin.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL