Summer Games in Paris
German basketball players qualify for the Olympics
With Satou Sabally’s layup just under a minute before the end of the game, the ticket to Paris was secured. photo
© Axel Heimken/dpa
The German basketball players pull off a big surprise. They are taking part in the Olympics for the first time. At the end of the qualifying tournament, the selection has to tremble again.
The German basketball players have chosen for the first time Qualified for the Olympics. The team of national coach Lisa Thomaidis beat the hosts 73:71 (39:35) in Belém, Brazil, in the third and final game of the qualification. The selection of the German Basketball Association surprisingly booked the ticket for the Summer Games in Paris, and the men around Dennis Schröder are also taking part in the Olympics as world champions.
After the clear 52:85 against top favorite Australia, the WNBA professionals Satou and Nyara Sabally, who were missing, returned. Leonie Fiebich with 22 points and Satou Sabally with 20 points stood out as the best throwers in an overall strong performance by the German team.
The guests got off to an outstanding start, were quickly up 11-0 and led for long periods of the game. But in the last quarter the Brazilians got better and better and built a four-point lead. The DBB selection for the Olympic qualification could have allowed itself a defeat with a difference of seven points.
But Canadian Thomaidis’ team didn’t let that happen. With Satou Sabally’s layup to make it 67:67 just under a minute before the end, the ticket to Paris was secured. The DBB selection exuberantly celebrated their success on the floor and posed for a group photo behind an oversized boarding pass. Germany laid the foundation with its unexpected victory against Serbia at the start of the Olympic qualifying tournament.