Köpper (DPA) – A successful year ended in defeat for German basketball players. National coach Gordon Herbert’s team, which was severely undermined by scheduling conflicts, lost to the Slovenians 75:81 (34:41) in Kopar and thus had to accept a second defeat in the World Cup qualifiers.
Germany had already qualified for the tournament to be held in Asia 2023 last Friday.
“We never gave up, we kept fighting,” Herbert said at MagentaSport in the evening. Also it was not because of the attitude towards the key player Christian Seungfelder. The Bamberg professional admitted, “I wouldn’t say there was a lack of motivation. But they did what they wanted with us aggressively. We weren’t physically strong.”
The best thrower for the Germans was David Kramer with 21 points. Jordan Morgan (22 points, 13 rebounds) and Ziga Summer (14 points, 12 assists) made excellent offenses for Slovenia. Germany have two remaining qualifiers against Sweden and Finland in February while still fighting for the top spot in their group. The World Cup ticket is now settled for the Slovenians with a home win.
Leadership changes back and forth
Even without the missing NBA stars around Dallas Mavericks leaders Luka Doncic, Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner, who are currently needed in North America, the first quarter offered lucrative basketball. Germany quickly took a 6–2 lead, with a dunk from Christian Sengfelder rousing the DBB team. After that, the lead changed back and forth: at first, the Slovenians, who were seriously weak from reserve, scored 12:2, then the Germans passed again and led 24:16 at the quarter-break.
Although head coach Herbert announced that he would take the game seriously even though he had mastered the qualification, this time he distributed minutes to more players. All twelve nominees were used in the first half. On Friday, in 94:80 against Finland in Bamberg, the main focus was on bronze medalist Justus Holatz, who had to leave early this time, and Seungfelder as well as Kramer. This time Lucas Vank and Gavin Schilling were also present as bench players from the beginning.
last attack too late
At half-time, the Slovenian, who drew little support from the half-empty ranks, took a seven-point lead after a strong final sprint. After the transformation, Herbert’s disciples did not give up, but Slovenia was strong this time, even without Doncic and the other stars. Germany was particularly vulnerable to the three-point line. The final attack, in which the visitors came back on four points, came too late.
The ground is becoming even more solid with the addition of the German team fighting for a World Cup medal from August 25 to September 10, 2023. European champions Spain bought tickets like the Italians, and the Latvians will also be in Asia. In addition to the Europeans, New Zealand, Australia and Canada have already qualified. Which country plays in which country will be clarified only by the draw in spring 2023. There will be four preliminary round groups in the Philippines, two each in Japan and Indonesia. The final round will be played in the Greater Manila region.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:221114-99-519421/4
