National player Leonie Fiebich believes the German basketball players are well-positioned for the upcoming European Championship despite the absence of Satou Sabally. “That is her decision. If she were to play with us and her head was somewhere else, that wouldn’t help us either. Except for the Olympics, we never had the best version of the national team together. There were always dropouts, so we can deal with that well,” Fiebich told the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
Sabally, one of the best players in the US professional league WNBA, had cancelled her participation in the European Championship with group stage in Hamburg (June 18 to 29) to concentrate on her new club Phoenix Mercury. There, the Berlin native is currently delivering strong performances. With the German national team, Sabally and Fiebich reached the quarter-finals at the Olympic Games in Paris last year. After her EM cancellation, Sabally explained that she wanted to be there at the home World Cup in Berlin in 2026.
Fiebich (l.) and Sabally together at Olympia
Fiebich did not want to give a final judgement on this: “Let me put it this way: Satou is also called ‘Unicorn’ (because of her versatility/d. Red.), she is considered a special player and she is also the same as a type: She does what she wants. It has always been like that and will remain so. You can’t force her into anything. Whether she plays the World Cup is ultimately the decision of the coach. At the same time, we get along so well as a team that nobody says: If Satou doesn’t play, then I don’t want to either.”
Fiebich herself had been released by her WNBA club New York Liberty for the European Championship, as the league is not pausing. “There were several meetings. The national team is my baby, we are building something big together, we still want to achieve a lot. But I also understand the club side. The start to the season is considered an important moment, so it’s difficult to let me go again after a few games. I am lucky that the General Manager of the Liberty has understanding for us Europeans. Even if it took some persuasion,” said Fiebich.
In addition to Satou Sabally, her sister Nyara had also cancelled her participation in the European Championship after knee problems, and captain Marie Gülich suffered a torn cruciate ligament in preparation. The Germans will start the European Championship tournament against Sweden on Thursday (8 p.m./MagentaSport). After that, they will play against Spain and Great Britain in the group stage in Hamburg.