Olympiua qualification
After the coup against Serbia: basketball players against Australia
Germany’s Satou Sabally (r) moves to the opposing basket. photo
© Marx Vasconcelos/dpa
The win against Serbia made the German basketball players self-confident. But the next task will be even more difficult.
After the surprise coup against two-time European champions Serbia, Germany’s basketball players will meet the next heavyweight at the Olympic qualification tournament. This Saturday in Belém, Brazil (9 p.m. CET/Magentasport) Australia is the next opponent for the team around WNBA star Satou Sabally.
“Australia is one of the best basketball teams in the world. They are known for their toughness and ability to control the pace. Many Australian players are very experienced, some play in the WNBA. This shows that there is a lot of talent in the team.” said national coach Lisa Thomaidis. “In any case, Australia is an international power house; they recently won bronze at the World Cup in their own country. But we have nothing to lose,” said the Canadian.
The day after the all-important 73:66 against Serbia, the main thing on the agenda for the German players was care. The morning training session was canceled on Friday and there was only a relaxed session in the afternoon. Finally, some players were injured after the Serbia game.
“But we will still go into the game with the same attitude as against Serbia. We also want to win against Australia, even if we know that it will be very difficult,” said Leonie Fiebich, who was so strong against Serbia.
On Sunday we will finish against hosts Brazil, who lost 55:60 to Australia at the start. The first three teams in the group of four qualify for the Olympic Games. The German basketball players have never taken part in the Olympics.