With a clear victory over the supposed co-favorites France, the German basketball players start the European Championship at home. The start in Cologne was ecstatic, but the DBB selection itself seems to classify the success factually. Even if the Ballermann music is obviously contagious.
German Ballermann pop hits roared from the speakers in the Cologne Arena, the 18,000 in the stands clapped along inexorably and even Maodo Lo couldn't resist the "Hey, that's great". The point guard danced lightly to the sidelines, apparently slightly intoxicated by his team's remarkable performance. A few moments later, the perfect start to the home European Championship was set. The selection of the German Basketball Association had not only defeated the co-favorites France with 76:63 (38:31), but also played dizzy at times, although Rudy Gobert, the defender of the year from the NBA, orchestrated the defensive there.
"That really made me want to," Lo then summarized what had become apparent during the 40 minutes: "We had fun playing today." In a sport that, despite all its seriousness and doggedness, always lives a little from the show, because it often reveals the looseness necessary for success. Perhaps the most important prerequisite for being successful. "I've never done that in a game before," said the 29-year-old about the fast break, in which he spectacularly dribbled the ball behind his own back to throw the defender off balance and then put it down to Dennis Schröder , who scored two easy points with a free layup.
The spectators in the hall cheered the action, which Lo was then allowed to describe again in an interview with MagentaSport with a happy smile, before Per Günther lightly put on the brakes on euphoria. He couldn't celebrate Lo standing next to him enthusiastically, said Günther, who ended his career this summer after 500 Bundesliga appearances and more than 60 international matches and has now switched to the microphone. But to try such a dribbling in a fast break on this big stage for the first time shows the self-confidence in your own abilities with which the "nation" goes into this tournament.
"Personally, I have to let that sink in first," said Günther, actually hardly at a loss for a quick-witted answer: "I've rarely seen such a performance from a German team." Sure, it's just the first preliminary round of a European championship, the group phase of which will be in Cologne, Milan, Prague and Tbilisi before everyone travels to Berlin for the final round. But France, that's not just any opening opponent, but at least the third of the past two world championships, the silver medalist from Tokyo, who had caused the overpowering Americans some problems in the Olympic final.
Dennis Schröder, who was ennobled as a "leader" by basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki and would also like to recommend himself for a new contract in the USA, did not show a particularly strong performance. In recent years he has been the sole entertainer on the German offensive at times because there is hardly anyone outside of the NBA who can keep up with his speed. However, after an ankle injury shortly before the European Championships, he is still looking for his form. He played 30 minutes against France, amassing a solid 11 points and 5 assists, but hitting just 4 of 14 shots from the field and none of his six hat-tricks. The fact that this undershooting of the ambitious builder's own standards had no consequences was mainly due to a Berlin trio with a recognizable Spanish influence.
What sounds complex was summed up in one word by Niels Giffey, who also represented Johannes Thiemann and Maodo Lo: "Aito". The nickname of Alejandro Garcia Reneses, this impressive Spanish coach who came to Berlin in 2017 and who had a lasting influence on Giffey, Thiemann and Lo there. Who transformed Alba back into a top club by consistently trusting his players, enabling them to learn from mistakes rather than being punished for them. Which conveyed to them that playing together, understanding their own role in the team structure, is more important than personal statistics. Whose influence is still having an effect despite his departure last year, because the Berliners have set themselves the goal of consistently making this path their own.
Against France it was Lo, Thiemann and Giffey who made the biggest contribution offensively with 13, 14 and 13 points and did so with a matter of course that German internationals apart from Dirk Nowitzki and Dennis Schröder seemed to lack far too often. Even if it was of course still only the first preliminary round game, a first impression that now needs to be confirmed in the long term. "It's just fun for all of us to play together," Giffey said afterwards. A bit cliché, certainly, but also a description of what the DBB selection had already broadcast in the equally surprising success over the reigning European champions Slovenia in the last preparatory game.
"I have to commend my players for the way they played," said national coach Gordon Herbert afterwards, probably meaning this confidence in their abilities. Before the tournament started, the Canadian had controversial personnel decisions (long-time captain Robin Benzing was removed from the squad in preparation) and idiosyncratic communication (he indirectly accused potential top performers Tibor Pleiß, Maxi Kleber and Isaiah Hartenstein of a lack of willingness to make sacrifices after their cancellations) in professional circles a mixture of astonishment and incomprehension. For Herbert, who previously worked as a Bundesliga coach in Frankfurt for many years, the successful start to the European Championship also brought some peace.
Because he seems to have managed to give the team an "identity" during the preparation. At least that's how Dennis Schröder described the fact that the DBB selection could rely on their defense even in weak offensive phases. The effort was right, the rotations were right, France let themselves be tempted to lose the ball, which resulted in easy German points. "We have to keep going like this," said Schröder, who will get the next chance to find his rhythm again in attack against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday (2:30 p.m./live in the free stream on MagentaSport).
Because as nice as it is to overthrow a tournament favorite, the feeling of exhilaration evaporates just as quickly when a drop in performance follows. Consistency is difficult for national teams to achieve because they only play at full strength in major tournaments. The recently introduced international game window during the season doesn't change anything because NBA professionals like Schröder, but Franz Wagner, Daniel Theis and the injured Moritz Wagner who are missing are not given the go-ahead.
But none of that played a role on this intoxicating opening night in Cologne, where the DBB selection took the first step towards reaching the final round in Berlin. That is the minimum requirement to achieve the goal you have set yourself: the first international medal since 2005, when an outstanding Dirk Nowitzki had carried Germany to silver at the European Championships. His shirt number 14 was ceremoniously pulled under the ceiling of the hall before the tip-off, so it will no longer be awarded, an honor that is unique in German national team basketball. The stories from 1993 are also popular, when the DBB men sensationally won the title in their own country, the only one to date.
It's still far too early for golden dreams anyway, even medals aren't an issue yet. At least that's what Daniel Theis said: "Of course it gives a positive push for the next games", i.e. the quite prestigious win over France, "but we can't buy anything from a win either." Nevertheless, a good start has been made that makes you want more. Even if this increases the likelihood that loud Ballermann music will blare out of the speakers again.
