German basketball players get revenge against Croatia

In the meantime, the German team was behind by 15 points, but then turned things around in time. The best German thrower was Johannes Thiemann with 24 points in front of 6,032 spectators in the sold-out Telekom Dome.

The first three teams in the group of four advance to the next group stage. The results from the preliminary round will be taken into account. The first group phase will conclude at the beginning of July with games in Israel and against Cyprus.

Schröder and Co. are missing

In Bonn, national coach Alex Mumbrú was missing the NBA professionals around captain Dennis Schröder and top player Franz Wagner, as well as almost all players from the Euroleague. Maodo Lo, Daniel Theis, Isaac Bonga, Johannes Voigtmann and Bayern star Andreas Obst – none of them were there. After all, European champion Oscar da Silva from Bayern Munich joined the team.

But as in Zagreb, the German team found it very difficult to cope with the Croatians’ aggressive style of play. In particular, long-time NBA professional Dario Saric and Euroleague star Mario Hezonja from Real Madrid repeatedly posed problems for the hosts. After 10 minutes, Germany was two points behind (22:24).

Croatia is pulling away

In the second quarter, the Croatians, who didn’t qualify for the European Championships last summer, even pulled ahead by nine points. The German team didn’t want to have any flow in the game; experienced players like David Krämer or Leon scratch weren’t a factor.

The only 20-year-old point guard Jack Kayil from Alba Berlin was also shown his limits by the ripped-off Croatians. There wasn’t much to be seen of the fast-paced game that has become a German trademark since Mumbrú took office in 2024. After an overall disappointing first half, Germany trailed by nine points (41:50).

Weak start to the final quarter, wild comeback

After the break, the Croatians even pulled ahead by 15 points (63:48). But then the selection of the German Basketball Federation finally woke up. The hosts came within five points (62:67) and the game seemed to be over. In the final quarter, the German team remained without a point for four and a half minutes, so that the Croatians were able to pull away again.

But Germany never gave up, made it 77:77 through Krämer with 1:03 minutes to go and thus saved themselves into overtime. There the German team continued to turn things up and still managed to win.