Despite many problems in the German team, the 21-year-old Frieda Bühner (M.) played a strong EM preparation.
Photo: Imago/Camera4+
Actually there should be something to hang. After two quarter -final defeats at the European Championship 2023 and the Olympic Games in Paris last summer, the German basketball players finally want to play for the medals. At the upcoming European Championship, the semi -finals were declared the goal – especially because the preliminary round games against Sweden, Spain and Great Britain are held in front of their own fans in Hamburg.
“We want a medal. We want to show that we can play up there in Europe, «announced Marie Gülich, the team captain of the German Basketball Association (DBB), at the start of the preparation for the Eurobasket 2025, the preliminary round of which will be held in Hamburg, Bologna, Brno and Piraeus from June 18 to 22, with a group of four in a city. But since this self -confident announcement, almost everything has gone wrong that could have gone wrong. Already in the first friendly against the Czech Republic, captain Gülich was seriously injured on the knee. The center player will be out for a long time with a cruciate ligament tear.
DBB women followed by the bad luck of injury
“Marie is a big loss for our team. Nobody will be able to replace it. Everyone has to make their contribution to filling the gap, «said national coach Lisa Thomaidis after the bad news, only to complain about the next failures a little later. Alina Hartmann contracted a meniscus injury in the friendly against Belgium a week ago and will miss the European Championship as well as Nyara Sabally. The younger Sabally sister, who won the championship in the WNBA with New York Liberty last September, had to cancel at short notice because her right knee caused her again after two cruciate ligament cracks.
The WNBA is also the reason why Nyara’s older sister Satou is not at the European Championship. The best German basketball player moved from the Dallas Wings to Phoenix Mercury in February. After that, the 27-year-old announced early on not to take part in the European Championship in order to concentrate fully on the challenge of her new team. The North American professional league does not take a break for European championships. The season is only interrupted for the Olympics.
Only two German WNBA players at the EM
The hopes for the European Championships are therefore on the other two USA legionnaires in the German squad: Leonie Fiebich, also under contract with New York, and Luisa Geiselsöder, who is currently playing their first season in the best league in the world with Dallas, have been released from their teams despite the colliding game plans. However, both missed most of the preparation because of the schedule. At the Media Day on Tuesday, Fiebich, who is supposed to lead the German team in the absence of Satou Sabally and Marie Gülich, did not want to spend a medal goal for the time being: “We have to look from game to game,” said the 25-year-old of the “Hamburger Morgenpost”.
A realistic assessment after Germany had only won a victory against Turkey in the four test games before the Eurobasket. In the two duels against the reigning European champions from Belgium, there were even two correct abrasion with 80:45 and 97:60. It mainly hooked on the offensive of the DBB women. Only against the Turkishes did Germany create more assists than ball losses. There was also a lack of danger from a distance. The triple quota of the German team was below average in all four preparatory games.
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There was still a bright spot. Without the WNBA players, Frieda Bühner swung up the winner of the EM preparation. Against Turkey, she reaches 30 points and 12 rebounds, personal best values in the national jersey. Bühner, who plays in Madrid at CB Estudiantes in Madrid, also strong against the Czech Republic (19) and in the second game against Belgium. She was the only German who constantly hit her three -point throws. If it holds its shape, the 21-year-old could mature alongside Fiebich and Geiselsöder at this European Championship into a key player in the German team.
A young team with a lot of potential
The future of German basketball continues to look rosy. This is also illustrated by the nominations of 17-year-old Clara Bielefeld and 21-year-old Hilke Feldrappe, both of whom are currently being trained on college in the USA. In preparation, the two talents spent their first weeks in the circle of the national team and were rewarded directly with two places in the 12 squad after promising performance by national coach Lisa Thomaidis.
However, this young German team without captain Gülich and the Sabally sisters are no longer one of the favorites on a medal. France, Serbia, Belgium and also the German group opponents from Spain are to be assessed more. With the home advantage in the back, however, at least second place in Group D should be possible, which is also enough to get on. “The quarter-finals are the goal, and everything is possible in a knockout round,” said DBB sports director Peter Radegast before the Eurobasket started the now slightly adjusted target.
In view of the difficult prerequisites, the final round, which takes place in Piraeus from June 24th to 29th Even with a view to the next year, the European Championship should be an exciting tournament for the DBB women.