2023-08-25 14:29:29
In the meantime it was alarmingly quiet in the arena in Okinawa, although Dennis Schröder had warned the evening before “the 18,000 spectators” in the chic hall, the captain of the German national basketball team had expected a “dogfight”, a tough fight against the co-host Japan. Not that many people fit into the hall, but the nearly 8,000 who came to the Okinawa Arena for their team’s first game, which was not completely sold out, also tirelessly cheered on their team.
But coach Gordon Herbert’s selection didn’t even allow for a fight on an equal footing, even without the help of Bastian Schweinsteiger. The soccer world champion had jokingly offered his support on social media shortly before the start of the game, Germany still won the game after a concentrated and sometimes strong performance with 81:63 points and thus has the hoped-for entry into this basketball world championship in Japan, Indonesia and made the Philippines sovereign.
In the last two tournaments it was over after the preliminary round. A drop of bitterness in the successful start was the injury to Franz Wagner, who twisted his ankle in the final section and stayed on the bench. The superiority of the guests was particularly noticeable in the rebound game, but the German team was far ahead of the physically inferior hosts in all other respects.
The first stress test on the Japanese holiday island brought a few other findings in addition to the two points. The conclusion of trainer Gordon Herbert was accordingly satisfied, although he also saw enough room for improvement. First of all, the victory and the successful start of the tournament are important, according to Herbert, but he is certain that his team “will keep getting better in the tournament”. The high expectations that coaches and team have of themselves do not seem exaggerated.
The first game in such a world tournament is always a tricky affair, especially against an ambitious and hot host. Japan had to do without their best player in Rui Hachimura, who, like many other top players, was not in the best physical condition after a long NBA season and gave up the home World Cup to concentrate on the upcoming season with the Los Angeles Lakers . But the Japanese team has another NBA player (Phoenix Suns) in winger Yuta Watanabe, who was the best Japanese with 20 points, and has achieved good results in preparation – home advantage is always an unknown quantity anyway.
Focused and cool: Not even a missile alert can faze players
But the German selection quickly made it clear who would leave the hall as the winner. A counterattack by Daniel Theis, a block by Schröder, two converted free throws by the captain and a fine individual performance by Franz Wagner brought the quick 6:2 lead. Although the home spectators tirelessly pushed their team, every successful action was frenetically cheered, but the clear superiority of the opponent quickly dampened the euphoria. When Moritz Wagner brought new momentum from the bench, the lead grew into double digits after the first quarter (23:11), at the break the Germans were comfortably ahead with 43:21 points.
Even after the change, the DBB team kept up the pace, defended attentively and repeatedly set highlights: powerful dunks by Theis or Isaac Bonga, fine feints and ingenious shots by Franz Wagner, irresistible dribbles by brother Moritz to the basket. The hosts didn’t want to give up at any time, but the game was already decided at the break. This gave coach Herbert the opportunity to spread the game over everyone’s shoulders, every player was used and the coach allowed his captain and driver Schröder generous breaks. The best thrower was Moritz Wagner with 25 points, while Schröder (14), Theis (13) and Franz Wagner (10) scored double digits.
If the team stays focused and cool, it can go a long way in the World Cup. Not even a missile alarm could disturb the players when a missile from North Korea flew over the island towards the Pacific on Thursday night. Around four o’clock in the morning, a shrill warning tone was sent to all mobile phones that were dialed into the local network, together with the request to quickly go to a shelter. Not even all the players noticed, as Moritz Wagner and Andreas Obst admitted the following day.
The first game of Group E saw Australia and Finland meet, with the favorites from Down Under struggling in the first half in their 98-72 win. Australia has nine NBA professionals in its squad and is therefore one of the medal contenders. No other team has so many players from the world’s best league in its ranks at this World Cup. Except for the USA, of course, whose selection, unsurprisingly, is recruited exclusively from NBA players. In the Finnish team, Lauri Markkanen was once again the most conspicuous player, but even the 19 points of the 2.13 giant of the Utah Jazz could not prevent the ultimately very clear 72:89 defeat. The Australians have thus underpinned their status as one of the favourites, so the second game of the German team on Sunday (10.30 a.m. German time) against Australia should already be about winning the group.
Then a much more difficult task is to be expected, which shouldn’t cause the trainer to frown. And in case of an emergency, he always knows that Schweinsteiger is up his sleeve.
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