Manila is calling. On the way to the World Cup finals in the Philippine capital, Germany’s basketball players are expecting one last game in Okinawa.
Dennis Schröder and Co. would like to leave the Japanese vacation island with the fifth win in the fifth game. On Sunday (1.10 p.m. / Magentasport) a tough test awaits in ex-European champion Slovenia with superstar Luka Doncic. Although both teams are already qualified for the quarterfinals, some questions remain.
How is Dennis Schroeder doing?
According to national coach Gordon Herbert not particularly well. “He has pain in his back. We have to see what he can do today. We’ll wait until tomorrow and see how it goes in training and throwing,” said the Canadian. Schröder had been substituted on Friday at 100:73 over Georgia and signaled back problems. How bad these are was unclear. Herbert left open whether Schröder can play – and instead demonstratively praised the representatives Maodo Lo and Justus Hollatz, who would have to compensate for a possible loss.
When will Franz Wagner return?
That is still not foreseeable. The 22-year-old Orlando Magic winger suffered a twisted ankle in the opening game against Japan and ended up wearing walking boots. Wagner trained again this week, but mostly individually and not with full contact in five-on-five. So far there has been no need to rush Wagner back. This also applies to the Sunday after progress has been made. It is easy to imagine that the hopefuls will only return in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
What is the starting position of the German team?
Outstanding compared to many other top teams. Vice-European champion France has already said goodbye in the preliminary round, the Olympic bronze medalist Australia now followed in the intermediate round. And some other medal contenders have to worry about progress on Sunday. World and European champions Spain meet the Canadian ensemble, which is peppered with NBA stars. Only the winner makes it to Manila. Italy and Serbia are also on the brink.
But the German team is far from satisfied, as co-captain Johannes Voigtmann emphasized. “I’m happy that we’re in the quarter-finals. But that was only an interim goal. We want to win the group now so that we have a really good starting position for the quarter-finals,” said Voigtmann. Only two teams will go through to the knockout stages of the World Cup undefeated, and Germany could be one of them.
What about the 2024 Olympics?
The first steps have been taken with four World Cup victories at the start, but elimination – only the two best European teams go directly to Paris – is tough. Reaching the quarterfinals alone will not be enough, after all, two other Europeans have qualified in Lithuania and Slovenia. Other nations such as Italy, Serbia or Spain could follow and then sometimes meet in the quarter-finals. The entry into the semi-finals should be necessary for the Herbert team. If the USA and two other European nations then get the medals, even fourth place would not be enough.
What is the game against Slovenia about?
In addition to the flawless record, victory in the group is also at stake. At the time of the game, however, it will not be clear what this means for the rest of the tournament. All decisions relevant to the German team in the other groups will be made later. Will world champions Spain or underdogs Latvia wait in the quarterfinals? Is it against the USA in the semi-finals or only in a possible final? A victory over Slovenia does not necessarily have to have a positive effect on the knockout stages in Manila. The final group game is irrelevant for an Olympic qualification, as both teams are sure to be in the quarter-finals.
Will RTL get back into the final phase?
No, unlike the EM 2022 not. The broadcaster “decided not to broadcast individual basketball games this summer,” said an RTL spokesman when asked by dpa. “In September, we are focused on the much-anticipated start of the NFL season and our extensive football rights.” Last year, the private broadcaster showed the quarter-finals, semi-finals and the bronze game in Berlin. Magentasport broadcasts all German games free of charge and the other World Cup games are subject to a fee.
