It was more competitive than expected. Despite a clear victory against Sweden, Germany’s basketball players still have a lot of room for improvement. The NBA pros shone above all
The German basketball team had more trouble than expected winning their first game on the way to the World Cup in Asia. The team of national coach Gordon Herbert defeated underdog Sweden on Saturday with a clear 87-68 (42-42), but it was not until the final quarter of the contested game that the expected clear conditions were achieved. Captain Dennis Schröder was the best German player in front of 6015 spectators in Bonn and scored 17 points.
The Herbert team still has a lot of work to do before the start of the World Championships on 25 August in Okinawa, Japan. Besides Schröder and youngster Franz Wagner (15 points), Moritz Wagner was particularly convincing. In his first international game since summer 2021, he played with an extreme amount of energy and emotionally carried away his teammates.
Before the start of the game, the German Basketball Federation had honoured its long-time captain Robin Benzing. The 34-year-old fought tears at the ceremony – like his wife – and said goodbye to his heartfelt team after 167 international games.
“The national team is in good hands, the boys are top. I always wanted to set a good example. The national team is a family to me – they are all my children. I will continue to look after them,” said Benzing. President Ingo Weiss called the veteran’s performance “unbelievable” and “phenomenal. “
Observer Benzing
Afterwards, Benzing took a seat in the stands and watched from there as his successors got off to a flying start. While the team around Schröder and Daniel Theis, peppered with NBA pros, provided several highlights, Sweden did not score at all for almost four minutes. But the early leads (8:0 and 15:4) did not last long. When head coach Herbert made a change, the Swedes got into the game better and even took the lead.
In the first of a total of six test matches on the way to Japan, the German team showed who the key players are likely to be again this summer. The tried and tested starting line-up of Schröder, Andreas Obst, Franz Wagner, Theis and Johannes Voigtmann is likely to be the only one to go by. Captain Schröder, who recently made headlines with his harsh criticism of teammate Maximilian Kleber, repeatedly hinted at his enormous potential and fed his teammates with spectacular passes. But not everything was successful by a long shot.
The game remained open after the change. Sweden scored much better from the three-point line and thus remained ahead until the beginning of the fourth period. Despite the strong final quarter, only a few players were able to make a strong impression on the German team one day before the planned reduction of the squad. Getting the second line behind Schröder and Co. going will probably be one of Herbert’s main tasks. World Cup co-favourites Canada are the next opponents on Wednesday (19.30/Magentasport) in Berlin.
