The German national basketball team was able to win the second test match of the World Cup preparation (86:81), but their opponents Canada demanded a lot from the DBB team. Franz Wagner in particular had to show skill – and patience – against Dillon Brooks.
Brooks, who earned a dubious reputation in the past NBA season as a hothead, “bad boy” and “trashtalker”, especially in the play-offs and in the private duel with superstar LeBron James, also fulfilled the role of provocateur in Berlin in addition to his duties as a tough defender. A few minutes had passed when the 27-year-old gestured towards the audience for the first time after a successful throw.
A few minutes later, he tried with all his might to prevent Franz Wagner from scoring a free basket and hit the Berlin-born player on the head with his arm during his attempted block – followed, of course, by a few sentences and gestures against the German shooting star of Eurobasket 2022, who was sitting on the floor. “It can be dangerous on the head,” Wagner later told “MagentaSport” about the scene, which had also resulted in angry whistles against Brooks in the stands and earned national coach Gordon Herbert a technical foul for his protest. “It wasn’t brutal now though, so it’s all good from there. “
All in all, Wagner’s endurance duel with his NBA opponent seemed to take a lot out of him, but the 21-year-old was by no means unnerved. “It’s a lot of fun. Of course he talks a lot. Everyone has to know for themselves how to get involved.”
Wagner’s method: some wordy counters and, above all, athletic answers – although the Magic pro certainly struggled on Wednesday night despite his 18 points in his emotional return home (“I had goose bumps during the warm-up”). In the final seconds, however, he converted a very important three-pointer out of time-out after a pass from Dennis Schröder (“The only shot that felt good today”).
Wagner, meanwhile, rated the test match against physically strong Canadians, co-favourites for the title at the World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines (25 August to 10 September), as a step forward – as did Herbert and Isaac Bonga. “It was a very, very tough game, Canada is a physical team. The important thing is that we took a step forward,” Bonga said. “There are some things we want to improve, Hamburg is a good chance to do that.”
There, Germany will compete in the traditional Super Cup on Saturday (first against China), which could also see a reunion in game two with Canada – and Dillon Brooks.
