Dennis Schröder (M.) was elected as the most valuable player in the tournament after the successful European Championship final.
Photo: Imago/Alexander Trienitz
The German basketball players are European champions. Against Turkey, they won the final in Riga on Sunday evening with 88:82 and thus achieved the rare double of world and European championship titles. Captain Dennis Schröder had the team in 2022, led to World Cup gold a year later and now to the top of Europe. Only at the 2024 Olympics, a medal was just missed with fourth place.
The German team had dominated the preliminary round, but then fought through in the KO phase rather than the Turks reached their highlight. They also had a better start in the final. The first two three of the long-standing NBA professional Cedi Osman, a croble plus three-point throw from Shane Larkin and a hook throw by superstar Alperen Sengun found their way into the basket, while the Germans bite their teeth on the fast Turkish defense until 2:13. With his own threesome and his first block in the defense, the native of Berlin heralded Franz Wagner, who quickly completed Isaac Bonga and Dennis Schröder at 14:14. At the end of the opening quarter, the team of the German Basketball Association (DBB) even led 24:22.
Nevertheless, the German team could not settle because they did not get Sengun under control in the second quarter. The versatile center of the Houston Rockets not only scored out of everyone, but also hung the German centers Daniel Theis and Johannes Thiemann one foul after the other, which subsequently forced them to make even more reluctance. The most experienced German players Theis and Schröder also made an unusually large number of simple ball losses offensive. At halftime, the Turks were ahead: 40:46.
“It was tough. We have to play faster, take better our chances and help each other better, «said wing player Isaac Bonga at half -time in an interview with Magenta Sport. In the end, he was chosen as the best player in the final with 20 points. In the duel of the NBA stars, Sengun was on 15 points after 20 minutes, Wagner (Orlando Magic) even in 16. Only the second German star remained unusually quiet. Captain Schröder had only contributed two free throw points. In the second half, however, he immediately started with a successful threesome. The DBB team was already on.
Before the eyes of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an exciting, always tight and competitive, but above all high-class game developed afterwards. Unsurprisingly, the only two teams met here who had won all their eight previous games. As with the last European Championship in Germany in 2022, the most balanced teams had once again prevailed against those teams who mainly rely on a superstar in their ranks. So the high -traded Serbs had already failed in the round of 16, since after the injury -related failure of Bogdan Bogdanović they only rely on Nikola Jokić and were thus offensive.
In the rounds afterwards, the Germans first switched off Slovenia around Luka Dončić and then the Finns with their superstar Lauri Markkanen, while the Turks around Giannis took care of Antetokounmpo and his Greeks. Antetocounmpo was able to secure a medal for the first time in his glorious career thanks to a 92:89 game for Bronze against Finland on Sunday.
In the grand finale a few hours later, both teams continued to rely on variable offensive and intensive defense work, the Turks sat down a bit, but the Germans came up again and again. Wagner and Schröder had more and more problems, but the role players Andreas Obst and Bonga met for the 77: 76 lead a good three and a half minutes before the final siren. And when Turkey struck back, captain Schröder suddenly took over, who achieved the last six points of the game to win.
The German team has compensated for the failures of the injury of Johannes Voigtmann and Moritz Wagner, who were still important supports at the World Cup gold in 2023. In addition, the new head coach Alex Mumbru was ill and the team could not coach during the games. His assistant coach Alan Ibrahimagic took over and led the DBB men to gold. “Now it’s great joy in me. The game was tight all the time. But as so often we showed the greater quality in the end, «Ibrahimagic summed up the final.
At the same time, being the world and European champions had previously only succeeded in the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and Spain. Germany has now also started a dynasty that is also recognized internationally. With Schröder and Wagner, two players were chosen among the top five of the European Championship, Schröder, even after the World Cup, again the most valuable basketball player in the tournament.