By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Germany stayed perfect at the FIBA World Cup, taking a big step toward the quarterfinals with a 100-73 win over Georgia at the start of the second phase.
Franz Wagner sat out his third straight game due to injury, but that didn’t stop Gordon Herbert’s team from achieving its fourth consecutive win, with Maodo Lo leading the way with 18 points and five assists.
Dennis Schroder added 16 points, but got upper body injury in the third quarter, as coach Herbert confirmed at the press conference, while Moritz Wagner scored 14 with six boards. Andreas Obst also finished in double digits with 12 points, as well as Daniel Theis and Johannes Thieman with 11 points each.
“Tough first half, started really badly, couldn’t control rebounds, and gave up some easy baskets in the paint… The bench kept us in the game. In the second half, the whole team put in a great effort, played hard defense, and offensively, it was easier for us to run and score,” Andreas Obst said at the press conference after the game.
For Georgia, Sandro Mamukelashvili scored 19 points, Goga Bitadze added 15 with six rebounds, while Toko Shengelia finished with 12 points.
Georgia gave a good fight to Herbert’s team in the first half, especially in the second quarter, which they won 25-21, to trail 41-43 at halftime. But Germany made a 14-0 run midway through the third period to gain a crucial 61-45 lead, which they maintained and even improved upon in the final moments of the match.
Germany shot an amazing 20/35 from beyond the arc, and that was the crucial difference in the match since Georgia only hit seven three-pointers out of 26 attempts. Also, Schroder and his teammates had 33 assists, 15 more than their rivals.
Germany is now on the verge of the second phase with a 4-0 score, while Georgia is 2-2.
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