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Cheering and emotion: The German basketball players are in Paris this summer
Photo:
Marx Vasconcelos/dpa
The German basketball players have qualified for the Olympics for the first time. National coach Lisa Thomaidis' team beat the hosts 73:71 (39:35) in the third and final game of the qualification on Sunday (local time) in Belém, Brazil. This means that the selection of the German Basketball Association will be taking part in the Summer Games in Paris, and the men around Dennis Schröder are also set to be world champions at the Olympics.
It is the biggest success so far for the DBB women. "I'm speechless. This is historic,” said captain Svenja Brunckhorst. National coach Lisa Thomaidis bowed to her players: “The toughness, the courage that they showed, I have never seen that before. I'm super proud. This is a massive step for this team.«
After the clear 52:85 against top favorite Australia, the WNBA professionals Satou and Nyara Sabally, who were missing, returned. Leonie Fiebich with 22 points and Satou Sabally with 20 points stood out as the best throwers in an overall strong performance by the German team.
Group photo with boarding pass
The guests got off to an outstanding start, were quickly up 11-0 and led for long periods of the game. But in the last quarter the Brazilians got better and better and gained a four-point lead. The DBB selection for Olympic qualification could have allowed itself a defeat with a difference of seven points.
But Canadian Thomaidis' team didn't let that happen. With Satou Sabally's layup to make it 67:67 just under a minute before the end, qualification was secured. The DBB selection exuberantly celebrated their success on the floor and posed for a group photo behind an oversized boarding pass. Germany laid the foundation with its unexpected victory against two-time European champions Serbia at the start of the Olympic qualification tournament.
ngo/dpa/sid