The team.

That was once a brand.

Germany may not have the biggest stars, but it does have the best structure, the best cohesion and the best team spirit.

The best team.

And now this: out, out, out.

Germany is out.

All over.

At the European Championships, at the Olympics without a medal and now maybe also at the Paralympics.

Is there no longer any team spirit in Germany?

Yes, wait! Germany's wheelchair basketball players have won five times and are in the semi-finals against the Netherlands, the favorites. The test matches shortly from the Paralympics all went to “Oranje”. But this time it shouldn't happen. The German R-Baskets have a match plan: Avoid fast breaks by their opponents! They killed them off in the friendly matches. A fast break is like a counterattack in football: If the opponent loses the ball, the player switches over immediately, passes quickly, drives very quickly so that a teammate can throw the basket without being forced. Germany succeeds in preventing fast breaks. But there is still Mariska Beijer on the side of the Dutch women. “She's a world class player. She always brings herself into positions from which she can drop her comfort throws ",says trainer Dennis Nohl.

Germany is falling behind. “We tried to double it, but she responded very well,” says Laura Fürst, who is strong in defense: “She clearly kept the Netherlands in the game.” But then the match changes and the third quarter changes becomes German. There is the top scorer Katharina Lang, who is blocked at the three-meter line in an unfavorable position. The attack time, which forces a team to throw, is about to expire. Long throws, the ball falls cleanly through the net on the ring of the basket, while the siren of the "throwing clock" sounds through the Ariake Arena: "bwwwwt". A buzzerbeater. It is running, even at the end of a hectic attack in the Dutch three-meter zone. The ball falls in front of the prince's wheels. Again, there is a need to hurry, again a buzzerbeater succeeds.The German substitutes and co-coach André Hopp are over the moon: "You need moments like this, that's exactly why we gained the upper hand," says Fürst. Generally the German bank, acoustically defining the game. It is not just the typical “Defense!” When the Dutch attack, no, every action is cheered, the positive spirit is never lost.

In addition to the individual class, it is probably what has brought the basketball players five wins in a row so far: team spirit. This is also due to the fact that many of the protagonists have known each other for a long time. Not just from the league, but also from college together. Both in the American state of Alabama and in Wisconsin, a small, German basketball colony is established at times. Three to four players study, train, cook, laugh, live together. That strengthens the cohesion. For example, Lang and Fürst were over there.