The new national basketball coach Álex Mumbrú caused a surprise when he was nominated for the first time. The successor to world champion coach Gordon Herbert nominated center Tibor Pleiß for the two European Championship qualifiers against Sweden on November 22nd and 25th.
The 35-year-old, who is currently under contract with Trapani Shark in Italy, last wore the national jersey eight years ago. After that he was no longer appointed due to differences with the association.
Mumbrú has to do without NBA professionals
After the Olympic Games, the Spaniard Mumbrú took over from successful coach Herbert, who moved to the German champions Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. In his debut on the German coaching bench, Mumbrú has to do without the NBA professionals around captain Dennis Schröder and top star Franz Wagner in Stockholm and Heidelberg.
In addition, the players from the Euroleague teams Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin will only be available for the second duel with Sweden on August 25th in Heidelberg due to parallel games with the clubs. World champion Andreas Obst (Bavaria) as well as Jonas Mattisseck and Louis Olinde (Alba) are part of the provisional squad of 19 players.
A total of three world champions there
In addition to Obst, there are two other world champions in Johannes Thiemann (Gunma Crane Thunders/Japan) and David Krämer (CB 1939 Canarias/Spain). Otherwise, Mumbrú relies on numerous young players without much international experience.
After two games, Germany has one win and one defeat in the European Championship qualification. The first three teams in the group of four will qualify for next year’s European Championships, which will be held in Finland, Poland, Cyprus and Latvia.