After a weak start, Germany turned their quarter-final against Greece around and are through to the semi-finals of the Olympic Games after a 76-63 victory
The DBB team’s top scorer was Franz Wagner (18), followed by Dennis Schröder (13), who also had 8 assists. The strong bench of Isaac Bonga (9 points, 3/6 threes), Johannes Thiemann (10 points, 6 rebounds), Moritz Wagner (8 points, 5 rebounds) and Nick Weiler-Babb (5 points) also played a big part in the victory.
Unsurprisingly, NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo was the main man for Greece (20 points, 8/13 from the field), supported by the strong Thomas Walkup (12 points, 2/5 threes) and Kostas Papanikolaou (10 points, 8 rebounds), among others.
The early tip-off time seemed to suit the Greeks much better than the DBB team. Giannis and Co. looked more determined and, after two successful free throws and a thunderous dunk by the “Greek Freak”, took a 12-point lead after five minutes
Germany sleep through the first half
Germany, on the other hand, looked pretty out of sorts throughout the first period. The offense was unable to find its rhythm against the physical defense. Desperate threes by Franz Wagner and Andi Obst missed the basket by a wide margin and there were also a number of unnecessary turnovers.
However, the German team finally got into the game in the second period. The bench around Wagner, Bonga, Thiemann and Weiler-Babb brought new energy into the game with their physical presence, which did Germany noticeably good at both ends. While Greece hit many difficult shots, Gordon Herbert’s team fought its way closer bit by bit. An alley-oop pass from Schröder to his Braunschweig buddy Daniel Theis with just a few seconds on the clock finally tied the scores at 36:36 at half-time
DBB team much improved in the second half
At the start of the second half, the tide then seemed to turn completely in the DBB team’s favor, with Schröder’s second successful three of the day giving Germany its first lead. However, Greece kept at it, scored well from outside for the first time in the tournament and created second chances in offense. However, Germany was now the better team and increased the lead to +7 thanks to a three from Bonga on the final buzzer.
It was a similar picture in the final period: Germany remained the better team, but were unable to pull away decisively because Greece continued to defend well. However, the Greeks were no longer able to do much in offense at this point and the German defense was simply too good. In the final phase, the ball repeatedly found the hands of Franz Wagner, who made many good decisions and ultimately closed out the game.
Germany has now reached the semi-finals of the Olympics for the first time. There, the DBB team will face the winner of the game between Canada and hosts France (6pm). The round of the last four is scheduled for Thursday, August 8. Tip-off times are 5.30 p.m. or 9 p.m.
