By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Australia had a strong start, taking down Spain at the 2024 Paris Olympics opener, and Germany followed suit with an impressive performance against Japan.
The 2023 FIBA World Cup winners handled business efficiently, defeating Japan 97-77 in their first game in Lille.
Franz Wagner led the way with 22 points and six rebounds, achieving a PIR of 21. While he stood out in scoring, it was Daniel Theis who took MVP honors with a perfect shooting performance, going 7/7 from the field for 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds, resulting in a team-high PIR of 25.
As coach Gordon Herbert said: “We won the first game, which is good for our confidence. The first half was a slow start, especially defensively. In the second half, our rhythm was better, we moved the ball well and defended better. Big respect for my team, who were 100% today. Japan is a high-level offensive team, they did a good job.”
Dennis Schroder also made his mark, recording a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Moritz Wagner added 15 points and Isaac Bonga chipped in with 11 points.
“A new challenge”
The Germans played like the defending champions of the FIBA World Cup, however, as Franz Wagner explained: “It’s a new summer, a new challenge for us. Of course, we dream of a medal, that’s realistic, but it’s not an issue at the moment. We still have a lot to do until then, and we’ll start with the next game against Brazil. Today was pretty good though”.
For Japan, Rui Hachimura led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds, despite shooting just 4/19 from the field.
Yuta Watanabe followed with 16 points, while Josh Hawkinson also recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Yuki Kawamura added 11 points and seven assists, and Hirotaka Yoshii scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds.
Photo credit: FIBA