basketball
DBB team wins start of European Championship qualification
The DBB team around Oscar Da Silva (r) prevailed against Montenegro. photo
© Marijan Murat/dpa
The stars are missing, but the result is still right: Germany’s basketball players have made a successful start to the European Championship qualification.
The German basketball players have their first game after the spectacular World Cup title Manila won. Even without almost all the world champions, national coach Gordon Herbert’s team clearly prevailed against Montenegro in Ludwigsburg with 85:61 (47:30) and thus celebrated a successful start to the European Championship qualification.
The World Cup heroes followed the game from a distance, with the exception of David Krämer. The NBA professionals around world champion captain Dennis Schröder are challenged in the USA, the Euroleague players like Bayern’s World Cup star Andreas Obst were given a breather by national coach Gordon Herbert with a view to the Olympic Games in Paris in the summer.
Without the stars, Spain legionnaire Oscar da Silva particularly shone with 19 points. The selection of the German Basketball Federation continues in Bulgaria on Sunday (4 p.m./MagentaSport). The Bulgarians lost their first game in Sweden 70:84. The first three teams will qualify for the European Championships in Finland, Latvia, Poland and Cyprus next year.