After EM-Aus
German basketball players aim for Olympic qualification
Looking ahead again after the EM-Aus: Lisa Thomaidis. photo
© Virginie Lefour/belga/dpa
The clear end in the EM quarterfinals should not concern the German basketball players for long. After all, there is still something to be achieved that no one would have dared to dream of before.
After the lesson from top favorite Spain, the German basketball players had to collect themselves briefly.
But then the team of national coach Lisa Thomaidis already looked ahead again. After all, there is still a lot at stake for the selection of the German Basketball Federation, despite the clear 42:67 defeat against Spain in the quarterfinals. This weekend’s placement round is about the ticket for one of the Olympic qualifying tournaments next summer.
First, Germany will meet the Czech Republic this Saturday (12 p.m. / Magentasport) in Ljubljana. In the event of a win, Sunday’s game for fifth place against Montenegro or Serbia would be about qualifying for the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. “We are ready for whatever is to come,” said Thomaidis.
Loss at Four Nations Tournament
Germany met the Czech Republic once during the preparation. In the first game under the leadership of Thomaidis there was a tight 51:56 at the four-nation tournament in Turkey. “But we didn’t have a large part of our squad with us then,” said the Canadian. Among others, Svenja Brunckhorst and Sonja Greinacher were missing.
“We’re a young team, it’s the first time that many players are on this stage,” said Greinacher after the clear defeat against Spain. “But we will learn from it.” Even against the Czech Republic, it is important to reflect on all the positives in the course of the European Championship so far. “We have to get back to doing what we’ve been good at,” said Thomaidis.