NURENBERG (DPA) — Nearly three and a half months after the Tokyo Olympics, things are getting serious again for the Germany national basketball team. In the evening (7 pm / magentasport) new national coach Gordon Herbert will make his debut against Estonia at Nuremberg.
Which players will be available during World Cup qualification? How do you secure tickets for 2023 when the tournament takes place in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines? Most important question regarding eligibility.
On which players can national coach Herbert build?
Certainly not on its top staff. Seven of the NBA’s elite professionals around star player Dennis Schroder are currently in North America and cannot take a break from the busy calendar. Canada’s 62-year-old coach Master Alba Berlin and Cup winners Bayern Munich cannot rely on the pros, as the clubs are also challenged in the Euroleague. Instead, there remains a rump team with players from Bamberg, Braunschweig and Frankfurt. At 32, Bastian Doreth is the oldest person since Robin Benzing. “It is extremely important for German basketball to qualify for the World Cup and we have only one goal in mind,” said Doreth.
How does the first qualification phase work?
In a group of four with Estonia, Poland and Israel, Germany must occupy one of the first three places to advance to the next stage of qualification. Given the detractors, it should be a matter of form, even without an elite cast. More important than progress are the points that are collected for the next qualifying round. The second stage consists of a group of six against three other teams from the second group. Victory will be achieved from the first stage. If you get into the top three in that group of six, the ticket is bought.
When could Dennis Schroder & Company even show up?
The first two qualification windows in November 2021 and February 2022, as well as the last two windows in November 2022 and February 2023. It’s utopian for NBA pros to travel home during the season. In theory, an agreement between Euroleague and FIBA is at least conceivable, so that Alba and Bayern professionals are available. For Schröder & Co, only two windows can be imagined: in late June/early July and in August, when qualifying games for 2023 will be played just before the home European Championships in Cologne and Berlin. There are two games in each of the six windows, so there are twelve games to play before the World Cup.
What are the prospects for the qualification?
In theory good. Germany qualified for the Olympics and finished in the top eight. Now you have to be one of the top twelve teams in Europe to qualify for the World Cup. It is mainly the circumstances of the many missing players that make it difficult. In order to make a very good starting position for the second qualification stage, the Herbert team must win the group along with Poland, Israel and Estonia. Thursday’s game against Estonia outsiders is less likely to be groundbreaking than a guest appearance in Poland’s toughest rivals Poland on Sunday (8 p.m.).
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