After the debacle at the start of the World Cup, the German basketball players said a quick goodbye to their own fans, then the focus went straight to the next game. Only 22 hours after the hearty 53:83 (24:50) against co-favorites Spain, national coach Olaf Lange's team has to survive against Japan in Berlin.
“Of course you want to be disappointed, but you shouldn’t. We have to switch gears immediately and focus on tomorrow. Off to the ice barrel and fully focused on tomorrow,” said Leonie Fiebich, who was the best German thrower with 13 points. The whole team showed a performance characterized by great nervousness and disappointed across the board in the eyes of Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) - especially before half-time.
Sabally: “A shitty game”
“You’re always smarter afterwards. We have to look at this carefully. Tomorrow is Japan, that's a completely different game. We have to keep looking forward and see that we come second,” said head coach Lange. Nyara Sabally summarized the disappointment in simple words: “It was a shitty game.” After the opening game, Chancellor Merz stopped by the German dressing room as planned.
Against Japan, who won the opener against Mali with 102:97, there will be a quick chance to make amends on Saturday (6 p.m.). The third and final group opponent is Mali on Monday. The group victory is over anyway with the clear defeat at the start.
Chancellor sees “great advertising”
Despite the clear defeat, there was a euphoric atmosphere in the arena. Chancellor Merz said this at halftime at Pro7: “I want this atmosphere for the whole country, I especially want it for the German Olympic bid. This is great advertising. Germany can do something.” Two days before the important state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, the CDU leader distracted himself a bit with sports - but he didn't have much to cheer about.
The first in the group makes it straight to the quarter-finals, the second and third play in the Play Ins for the last tickets for the round of the best eight. Germany has set itself the goal of a medal. That should be very difficult after the impressions from the Spain game.
Also because the team has to do without top star Satou Sabally in only its second World Cup participation. The 28-year-old will miss the tournament in her hometown due to the after-effects of a concussion.
German team very nervous
The German team acted extremely nervously in front of 12,550 spectators in the sold-out Uber Arena, including Merz and his new sports minister Ronald Rauhe. The large backdrop and high expectations seemed to inhibit the hosts rather than inspire them. The experienced Spaniards took advantage of this mercilessly and pulled ahead by double digits in the first quarter.
The German team was particularly uncompetitive defensively. After just five minutes, the Spaniards had already scored 21 points. The co-favorite scored almost at will, especially from a distance, and already had six successful three-pointers to his name after the first quarter. After ten minutes, Spain was ahead by eleven points.
Already behind by 26 points at halftime
Head coach Lange tried to calm his unsettled team during several timeouts and give the game some shape. But Spain remained superior in all respects. Nyara Sabally showed her value in a few scenes, but overall Germany didn't have much going for it offensively.
Only seven of 30 attempts from the field found their way into the basket in the first half - far too few to be able to keep up with the ripped-off Spaniards. At the break, Germany was already hopelessly behind by 26 points.
In addition to the great nervousness, the bumpy preparation was clearly noticeable. The players from the WNBA joined the team late. Fiebich was the last to join the team at the weekend. In addition, it was unclear for a long time whether Nyara Sabally could be there. The younger of the two Sabally sisters had to take a break for weeks, but won the race against time and was there. That didn't help much on Friday.
