With their surprising run at the European Championships in Slovenia, Germany’s basketball players even made it into the 8 p.m. daily news – as the only sports news of the day.
But Marie Gülich and Co. are far from finished after beating Slovakia 79:69. “Our goal was the second round and now we’re in the quarter-finals. A dream has come true,” said Gülich, who scored 26 points in the sovereign success.
“Wrote a little history”
Now an EM quarter-final against favorite Spain is waiting on Thursday. “I’m excited to play against my team-mates from Valencia now. I’ve never played against Spain for the women, it will be a special game,” said the 29-year-old Gülich. Alongside Leonie Fiebich, she is the great hope of national coach Lisa Thomaidis’ team.
For the first time since 1997, the women’s basketball team is back in a European Championship quarter-final. Thomaidis, who has only been in office for a few weeks, was proud. “Now we’ve made a bit of history, but we continue to see every opportunity that comes our way. We’ll be ready for Spain,” announced Thomaidis confidently.
A sensation against Spain would secure a ticket to an Olympic qualifying tournament for Paris 2024 – and a medal just a step away. Germany had previously also defeated Slovenia (66-62) and Great Britain (62-61) in the group stage.
