The German basketball players fly to Tokyo. At the Olympic qualification tournament in Split, Croatia, they defied all adversities – and ultimately beat the favored Brazilians 75:64 in a rousing final. Despite the background noise caused by the controversial nomination of Joshiko Saibou and the late cancellation of NBA professional Dennis Schröder, national coach Henrik Rödl managed to form a tight-knit community that grew from game to game and ultimately won the ticket to the Olympic Games Japan has secured.
After the victories against Mexico (82:76) and Russia (69:67) in the group games, the selection of the German Basketball Federation (DBB) found better and better in the tournament and already convinced in the semi-finals with the hard-fought 86:76 against the Croatians. Although the tournament hosts had already given the title of tournament favorite in their first game after the clear 67:94 bankruptcy against Brazil, they presented themselves in the expected improved condition. Above all, Bojan Bogdanovic was in great form, the 32-year-old earns his money at the Utah Jazz in the North American professional league NBA and had already proven himself to be the outstanding leader of the team in the previous games. The powerful winger was also unstoppable by the Germans, Bogdanovic not only scored 38 points and thus half of all Croatian points, he also brought a bit of NBA flair to the floor with crashing dunking.
But that couldn’t hide the fact that apart from the Brazilians, no other participant was able to bring anything close to top form onto the stage. Rather, you noticed most of the protagonists that they were at the end of their tether after a particularly long and demanding pandemic season. The error rates were unusually high, the flow of the game or even sophisticated team actions could only be admired very sparingly, especially since the preparation time for this competition was largely canceled for all teams.
The German selection shows again a committed team performance – the key to the ticket to Tokyo
The German selection had developed enormous cohesion in the face of these adversities and the self-inflicted quarrels. This commitment and corps spirit also carried the players to the victory against Croatia, which, unlike Germany, was too dependent on solo entertainer Bogdanovic. But in the final phase, despite all the cheering of the almost 2500 spectators, he was at the end of his strength.
The DBB selection also played below their potential, but once again knew how to convince as a collective. Maodo Lo stood out against Croatia with 29 points and many successful actions. While the matches have so far been carried out by the great players around Johannes Voigtmann, it was the guards who set the tone against Croatia: In addition to Lo, Saibou (13 points) and distance shooter Andreas Obst (11) scored double-digit. That is the great strength of this DBB selection: there are always other actors who are in great shape, each individual contributes to the team performance.
And so the team of national coach Rödl delivered an unexpected energy performance even against the South Americans favored due to the performances shown so far. This time the NBA-experienced power forward Moritz Wagner led the way, scored safely from distance, was difficult to hold in a one-on-one game and top scorer with 27 points. Captain Robin Benzing (13), who drove the colleagues again, as well as playmaker Maodo Lo (10) also scored double digits, but the triumph was again the result of a coherent and brilliantly fighting collective. Now, instead of taking a well-deserved vacation, the German national players prepare for the Olympic tournament.