The German basketball players made a successful start in the Olympic qualification tournament in Split. The team of national coach Henrik Rödl won its opening game against Mexico on Tuesday with 82:76 (40:42) and thus made a big step towards the semi-finals. However, Germany had to tremble for a long time without the missing NBA star Dennis Schröder and only turned the game in the last quarter. Schröder, who is not there for insurance reasons, at least supported the team from the stands. The best German thrower was Joshiko Saibou with 17 points. On Thursday (4.30 p.m. at Magentasport), the selection of the German Basketball Federation continues with the game against Russia.
The first and second of the two groups of three qualify for the semi-finals on Saturday.
Only the winner of the tournament with a total of six teams secures the ticket for the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
The last time the German basketball players were in Beijing in 2008 with superstar Dirk Nowitzki at the Olympics.
After the turbulent preparation with the controversial nomination of Saibou and the last-minute cancellation by Schröder, the German team started nervously in the almost empty Spaladium Arena.
It was clear to the team that it had not yet played together in this constellation because the dress rehearsal against Senegal last Thursday was canceled due to positive corona cases among the Africans.
And that was clearly evident in the rhythm of the German game. Rödl initially relied on Lo, Andreas Obst, Isaac Bonga, Danilo Barthel and Johannes Voigtmann. But the defining player in the first quarter was Francisco Cruz. The 31-year-old Guard did not get the German defense under control, also because of his eleven points, the outsider was ahead with 22:19 after the first quarter.
In the second section, too, there were still many voting errors on the German side. Saibou, who had distanced himself from conspiracy theories in an interview with the German press agency shortly before the meeting, but whose nomination was still controversial, managed to equalize at the beginning of the second ten minutes. But the DBB selection failed to take the lead and stop the Mexicans' verve. Mainly because the throws did not want to fall from a distance. Only three of 17 litters found their way into the basket before the break. Germany was two points behind at halftime. Rödl then walked thoughtfully across the floor.
But even after the break, the German team initially continued to disappoint. Mexico sat down on eight points (51:43), the momentum just didn't want to fall on the side of the German team. But even if only a little played together, the German team showed morale. With three converted free throws, Saibou put Germany in the front (69:68), the Mexicans now lost their strength. So it was enough for the so important opening victory.