For the German basketball players, the quiet dreams of an Olympic medal were shattered in the quarterfinals.
Coach Lisa Thomaidis’ team deservedly lost 71:84 (33:45) to host France on Wednesday and missed the fight for the podium.
Unlike the men’s semi-finals or the Olympic victory of the 3×3 team, no luck was brought to noble fan Dirk Nowitzki, who was once again sitting in the audience.
Against the 2021 Olympic bronze medalists, the German Basketball Association’s selection was too rarely able to build on its strong performances from the preliminary round, with star player Satou Sabally (ten points) in particular having a surprisingly weak day.
In the end, returning player Nyara Sabally (20 points) and Alexis Peterson (15), the best DBB shooters, could not prevent the quarter-final exit.
Strong preliminary round lets DBB women dream
Nevertheless, the Olympic premiere can be considered the greatest success of German women’s basketball since the European Championship bronze in 1997. After all, many experts had expected a German elimination in the preliminary round.
In the brutally difficult Group C, the DBB women confidently advanced to the quarter-finals as group runners-up after victories against European champions Belgium and Japan. The only blemish was the clear defeat at the end of the preliminary round against the top favorites from the USA.
However, the DBB team did not let this expected defeat unsettle them.
The players are expecting “a very difficult game” due to the atmosphere surrounding the hosts from France, stressed Luisa Geiselsöder before the quarter-finals, “but one on equal terms. We have a lot of self-confidence. We can hardly wait to pull off a surprise.”
Too many ball losses in the German game
Nyara Sabally was also expected to help. The 24-year-old from the WNBA club New York Liberty was playing for the first time since she suffered a concussion in the first group game against Belgium.
Despite a good start, the Germans had problems establishing a significant lead. Despite good approaches, the German offensive game suffered greatly from too many ball losses.
Satou Sabally in particular was clearly below normal form, with only two points from free throws and six turnovers by halftime. The French women were completely different, playing to their individual qualities with ice-cold precision – and pulling ahead by twelve points by halftime.
The Germans also struggled after the restart. They managed to keep the gap more or less constant, but because the French continued to score points, a catch-up was never realistic.
Source: www.sport.de
