After trailing by 16 points at one point, the USA finally won the last World Cup test against Germany in Abu Dhabi. The coach of the tournament favourites complimented Schröder and his team afterwards.
US national coach Steve Kerr, in “real life” head coach of the Golden State Warriors and as a multiple champion in the NBA on 25 October with the first league game with the Californians against the Phoenix Suns, is very pleased with the German basketball players after the direct duel on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. “That was definitely our toughest opponent. They are a big, strong team. Dennis Schröder is very hard to control. Spain was also excellent, but it’s clear that Germany is one of the best teams in the world,” Kerr told dpa in Abu Dhabi. Earlier, the Olympic champions had a lot of trouble with the European Championship bronze medallists in a 99-91 win on Sunday night. It was the closest of the five US wins in World Cup preparation.
“We know Theis, the Wagners and Schröder “
For Kerr, the strong performance of the German team did not come by chance. “I wasn’t really surprised. They’ve been playing together for a couple of years. We know Theis, the Wagners and Dennis Schröder. They are all excellent. Those guys like to turn it up on the national team,” Kerr said. The USA are top favourites for the gold medal at the World Cup in Asia (25 August to 10 September) and will face New Zealand, Jordan and the Greeks, who will be without star centre Giannis Antetokounmpo, in preliminary round Group C.
According to Kerr, there are several other hot candidates besides the DBB team, such as world champions Spain, Canada and Australia. The 57-year-old Warriors coach also counts the team of national coach Gordon Herbert among the close favourites. “They are definitely a medal contender for the World Cup,” Kerr said. The last test in the Persian Gulf on Sunday was “a great challenge”.