Andreas Obst didn’t really know what to say: “I’m still a bit speechless, but that was probably the most important game of my career. We wanted to play quickly and confidently, and I think we succeeded quite well.” The shooting guard of the German national basketball team seemed to be taking a cue from his boss with this understatement. Coach Gordon Herbert is known for cooling his statements down to icy temperatures, even at the moment of greatest triumph. But what was that? Despite the iron attempt not to allow his facial expressions any freedom, a broad laugh flashed twice across the Canadian’s face, who quickly regained his composure: “We’ll enjoy this for a few hours now, then we’ll think about Serbia.”
This achievement by the gnarled 64-year-old to keep his emotions in check was almost as remarkable as the splendid performance of his actors. By the way, after the final siren, they rolled around on the floor in a suitably exuberant way as a big red ball of players knotted together. Well deserved: In a high-class and nerve-wracking semi-final at the World Cup finals in Manila, the selection of the German Basketball Federation (DBB) knocked the big tournament favorites USA out of the title race with 113:111 and is reaching for the gold medal in the final on Sunday (2.40 p.m.).
This biggest game in the history of German basketball will not only be broadcast free of charge by the specialist channel Magentasport, as before, but also by ZDF. Before the semi-final, DBB President Ingo Weiss spoke out once again to rail against the free-to-air television channels. And lo and behold: Immediately after the outstanding victory against the USA, ZDF announced that it would also broadcast – and thus give the German basketball players at this World Cup the attention they deserve.
In any case, the semi-final was the best advertisement for this fast-paced ball sport, in which two brilliantly acting opponents duel at the highest level and didn’t spend long on tactical banter. It went back and forth at a breathtaking pace, dunkings, ball relays and spectacular blocks alternated over the entire 40 minutes and accumulated in a nerve-wracking final phase in which Germany deservedly retained the upper hand and celebrated the greatest success in their World Cup history.
Dennis Schröder holds back, primarily orchestrates – and still scores 17 points
The German team was aware that it was not a good idea to miss the start against this opponent – which was the case in previous games. But the way Herbert’s players got started was not to be expected. At an insane pace, the German team offered an almost flawless performance with irresistible individual actions and confident finishes. Because the USA team was, as expected, not a bit worse, this offensive spectacle developed at the highest level. Franz Wagner could hardly be stopped, Daniel Theis worked under the baskets, and captain Dennis Schröder orchestrated the game, refrained from making stubborn shots and still collected 17 points.
The German team only made a few inattentions in defense, but no opponent has more individual quality to offer than the Americans. No matter how convincingly the Germans scored, the USA knew how to counter and were ahead by a tiny margin of 60:59 at the break. Which is of course easily explained by the class of the opponent: Above all, the irresistible Anthony Edwards from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who collected 23 points and was repeatedly eye-catching with cracking dunkings, and Austin Reaves (21) from the Los Angeles Lakers represented the Germans Always ward off problems.
Of course, the burden of being the favorite also lay on the side of the US team, no matter how strongly its coach Steve Kerr said the team was still the only undefeated team in the tournament. Every defeat by an American selection against an opponent from the old continent is perceived as an insult to majesty at home; it is not without reason that the North American professional league NBA is considered the legitimate unit of measurement in world basketball. Nevertheless, the gap to Europe has narrowed significantly, as the Serbs’ confident 95:86 victory in the first semi-final against the favored Canadians, who are of course largely recruited from NBA players, impressively demonstrated.
It’s about to roll: The German team has reached the World Cup final with a win against the USA, now only Serbia stands in the way of gold triumph.
(Photo: Michael Conroy/dpa)
Now Canada and the USA face each other, not in the final, but in the game for third place. What Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic, who once gave the German basketball players their only title win with the European Championship victory in 1993, had expected in his own words: “I wanted this final, and it happened like that. It was a great game, But you could see from the start that the Germans would win. I’m happy, now the better guy should win.”
Andreas Obst plays himself into a frenzy
The German team also started the second half with incredible intensity. In addition to Franz Wagner, who collected 22 points, and Theis (21 points), Andreas Obst played himself into a real frenzy, not only scoring from a distance, but also making an irresistible move to the basket and becoming the top scorer with 24 points. Because Johannes Thiemann (10), coming off the bench, didn’t need any start-up time and set the tone both front and back and Moritz Wagner also scored double-digit points (10), the German selection gradually pulled away and was even in double-digits with 94 before the final quarter: 84 in the lead.
And they weren’t willing to let this triumph go: With joint strength, the Germans fought back against the Americans’ expected onslaught in the last quarter, a three-pointer from Obst, a monster block from Isaac Bonga, the final points from Captain Schröder an irresistible dribble – and the historic victory was achieved. In the words of the famous Daniel Theis: “We believed in ourselves, played without fear and kept a cool head. But we have a goal in mind that has not yet been achieved.”