Birthday boy Franz Wagner was celebrated by his teammates at a convivial dinner, captain Dennis Schröder heated up the atmosphere at the table again and again loudly: After the demonstration of power against European champions Slovenia, Germany’s basketball players travel to Cologne with a lot of self-confidence and in the best of moods, where at the European Championship preliminary round the foundation stone for the first medal since 2005 is to be laid. The 90:71 win over Slovenia and superstar Luka Doncic gave the German team at least a brief feeling: We can beat anyone like this! That would have to be proven on Thursday (8.30 p.m. / Magentasport) at the start of the European Championship against France.
Captain Schröder, who took over the post a few weeks ago from Robin Benzing, who had been sorted out, warned directly: “The European Championships are in a completely different league. We have to wash that down and be ready for the European Championship. Because it will be a different league in the bomb group with Slovenia, France and Lithuania.” With Schröder as playmaker, Franz Wagner as an extremely versatile wing and Johannes Voigtmann in the middle, national coach Gordon Herbert has found the framework despite numerous prominent failures should carry through the EM.
Before the flight from Munich to Cologne on Tuesday morning, Schröder and his proud colleagues had one last day of relaxation. Initially, nothing more than regeneration and a joint dinner were on the agenda. The coming weeks will be packed enough with a theoretically possible nine games in 18 days. In addition to the respectable success and the almost done World Cup qualification for 2023, the 6136 fans who loudly whipped the German team forward gave a boost. A foretaste of what it could be like in Cologne or at the final round in Berlin from September 10th.
“It’s going to be really cool. We’re really looking forward to Thursday,” said Wagner. The Berliner turned 21 on Saturday, only made his debut in the national jersey this summer, but plays like a ripped-off veteran. In addition to Schröder, whose recently injured ankle seems to be holding up, Wagner is the very big hope that he can really achieve the medal he has set himself. “It’s a completely different game than in the NBA, but I have a lot of freedom and that’s great for me as a young player, of course,” said the Berliner, who plays for the Orlando Magic in the NBA.
His brother Moritz is not on the floor due to injury, but fired wildly from the sidelines in Munich. Also a sign of how the team spirit is right before the start of the tournament, even if many failures had meanwhile damaged the confidence in a successful EM. In the extremely strong group B, Germany, despite the home advantage, is more of an outsider in the race – France, Lithuania and also the Slovenes around Doncic, who are weakening in Munich, are rated more strongly.
