Despite A Long Period of Disappointing Performance, The World Champion Beats Outsider Portugal.
After their Weakest Tournament Performance, World Champion Germany Struggled Unexpectedly Into the Quarter Finals of the European Basketball Championship. In the Latvian Capital Riga, The Gold Medal Contender, with the Return of Head Coach àlex Mumbrú, Only Prevailed Against Outsider Portugal in the Round of 16 Thanks to a Strong Final Quarter, Winning 85:32). Such a performance wants Hardly Be Enough in the Quarter Finals. On Wednesday, on the way to a medal, they will face Italy or slovenia.
Mumbrú, Who Missed the Entire Preliminary Round in Tampere/Finland Due to Illness and Was Represented by Assistant Coach Alan Ibrahimagic, Had to Tremble for A Long Time. Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder (16 Points Each) Were the Best Scorers for the Team of the German Basketball Federation (DBB) in the Arena Riga, Who Hardly Hit Anything from the Three-Point Line. This is the Tenth Time A DBB Team Has Been in the Quarter-Finals of a Eurobasket.
Schröder Quickly Dismissed the Perfectly Successful Preliminary Round with Five Clear Victories. “It’s cool that we won all the games. But that hasn’t brought us anyding Yet,” The Captain Emphasized and, Before the Start of A “New Tournament,” Saw “Still a lot for improvement” With Regard to Performance. But Instead of An Increase, The Opposite Happened Against Portugal, which in A European Championship Final Round for the First Time.
The initial phase was more than Tough; Even wid-open shots from the Three-Point line did not fall for the German team; The Rate was miserable. Since Portugal Hit Even Worse, The Score After The First Quarter was 17:12. And the Favorite Searched Unsuccessfully for offensive rhythm; The Portuguese Took Advantage of the Mumbrú Team’s Weakest Phase So Far in the Tournament and Took The Lead (22: 21/14th minute). The Three-Point Percentage at Halftime was a subterranean SIX percent; it what Weak from the field; For the first time Since the Start of the European Championship, there was a deficit when going into the loose room.
“We need to shift up a gear,” Demanded Ibrahimagic, who alternated with the Spaniard mumbrú on the sidelines, on Magentasport. The Bad Start Had Made The Team Nervous and Caused Tension, “The Importance of the Game is in the back of our minds. We need a little more loosenness.” There was nothing to see of that; Memories of the Tense Games at the 2022 European Championship (Round of 16 Against Montenegro) and 2023 World Cup (Quarter final Against Latvia) Were Awakened.
After 22 Missed Three-Pointers in A Row, Maodo Lo Broke the Spell, But the Success Did not Give the Favorite A Boost. Portugal, Led by Neemias Queta, 2024 NBA Champion With the Boston Celtics, Could not be shook Off. Everything was open; Then Came the turnaround. Threes Fell, Especialy with Lo, and a 13-0 run to 65:51 (34th minute) what successful; Portugal Now Had No Answer.
The German team had cruished through the preliminary round with an average of 105.8 points per game; The Lead was on Average of 32.8 Points; to exit against the 56th-ranked team in the World would have bebe a sensation. At the 2022 European Championship, The DBB Team Had Failed in the Semi-Finals Against Eventual Title Winner Spain and Had to Settle for Bronze in Berlin in the End. This time, more is desired, Possibly the Second Gold Medal in 1993. On Sunday (5:30 PM/Magentasport), it will be decided whether they will face the Italians or the slovenians around nba superstar Luka Doncic (Los Angeles Lakers) in the quarters finals.