Eliminated respectively by Spain and France in the semi-finals of the EuroBasket, Germany and Poland face each other from 5:15 p.m. for the small final. The objective: to get on the podium and win the bronze medal.
It’s already time to lower the curtain for Germany and she would have liked to wait until tonight to do so. Defeated at the end of the suspense by Spain, the players of the Mannschaft will not imitate their elders of 1993, who had won gold in Munich. For Dennis Schröder and his band, it will be the maximum bronze and it is already a very beautiful feat of arms. We sometimes forget that the Teutonic basketball trophy cabinet only has three medals. A gold medal at Euro 1993, a third place at the 2002 World Cup and a silver medal at Euro 2005. And for 17 years, nothing, absolutely nothing, except several disappointments (elimination in the group stage in 2015 for Dirk’s last… at home) and the impression that this team had fallen into line. Capable of picking up a few bangs but not really a serious contender when it came to drawing up the list of favorites. And then this Euro at home came to make us lie. Very solid in front of their public, Germany showed a conquering face, behind a Dennis Schröder who clearly came to close mouths. Of the four semi-finalists, she was probably the one who had mastered her subject the best so far. No luck, a missed last quarter will deprive her of the title match. Now it’s time to write the end of the book and the happy ending is a third place that would confirm this rebirth. On paper, Germany has the means to believe it, be careful not to miss it.
“Our goal was to win a medal and that’s still possible on Sunday. Me as captain and the guys, we want to win a medal. It would be historic and we want to make history, and that’s motivation enough. »Dennis Schröder – via FIBA
Bronze medal or not, Poland has already succeeded in its EuroBasket. Not expected in the last four of the competition, the Poles created a sensation by eliminating Slovenia, yet European Champion in title, and Luka Doncic in the quarter-finals. It is a feat, it must be said what is, and this capital performance has undoubtedly tapped into the reserves of the Eagles. Totally muzzled by the French in the semi-finals, Poland seemed uninspired and above all without juice. Usual leaders of the group, AJ Slaughter and Mateusz Ponitka have passed by, well locked by Terry Tarpey and Andrew Albicy in particular, and the red and white will not be able to do much if they do not step up against Germany. Yes the paper gives the Teutons the winners but anything can happen in one match and Poland has already proven in the past that it could be on the podium. (3 consecutive medals in the 1960s) News this Sunday would make it possible to dust off the old trophy cupboard a little and to better prepare for the next deadlines. Already eliminated from the race for the 2023 World Cup, Igor Milicic’s men will above all be keen to be ready for EuroBasket 2025. Logically, it will take place… in Poland.
“That game (the semi-final loss) is quickly erased from our memory. It’s over. We are still here and many teams are at home. Many teams would like to be in our place right now to play for third place. AJ Slaughter – via FIBA
ROSTERS
Germany : Niels Giffey, Justus Hollatz, Maodo Lo, Andreas Obst, Dennis Schroder, Christian Sengfelder, Daniel Theis, Johannes Thiemann, Johannes Voigtmann, Franz Wagner, Nick Weiler-Babb, Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann
Poland : Aleksander Balcerowski, Aaron Cel, Aleksander Dziewa, Jakub Garbacz, Lukasz Kolenda, Michal Michalak, Dominik Olejniczak, Mateusz Ponitka, Jakub Schenk, AJ Slaughter, Michal Sokolowski, Jaroslaw Zyskowski
THE JOURNEY OF THE TWO TEAMS
- Germany – France : 76-63
- Germany – Bosnia: 92-82
- Germany – Lithuania: 109-107
- Germany – Slovenia : 80-88
- Germany – Hungary: 106-71
- Germany – Montenegro: 85-79
- Germany – Greece: 107-96
- Germany – Spain : 91-96
- Poland – Czech Republic: 99-84
- Pologne – Finland : 59-89
- Poland – Israel: 85-76
- Poland – Netherlands: 75-69
- Pologne – Serbia : 69-96
- Poland – Ukraine : 94-86
- Poland – Slovenia: 90-87
- Pologne – France : 54-95
Germany-Poland is the small final of the EuroBasket and there will only be one left for the bronze medal. The Germans to end on a high note? The Eagles to validate the success story of the summer? The answer at 5:15 p.m.