German basketball players furiously defuse France
What a display of Olympic power: Germany's basketball world champions dismantle France and its wonder kid Victor Wembanyama in the first three quarters. The quarter-finals are a class apart. In the quarter-finals, Germany easily eliminates top favorite USA.
Led by a bear-strength Franz Wagner, the German basketball team brilliantly disenchanted France's super talent Victor Wembanyama and set a big exclamation mark on their mission for an Olympic medal. The already qualified world champions for the quarter-finals crushed the host on Friday in the cauldron of Lille with 85:71 (48:27) - and secured a top position for the final round in Paris as a deserved group winner.
Franz Wagner and captain Dennis Schröder (both 26 points) led the Germans as top scorers to their third victory in the preliminary round, NBA prodigy Wembanyama scored 14 points. Before moving to the Olympic Village in Paris, the team not only underlined its ambitions for a medal with this remarkable success, but also gained an advantage for the quarter-finals on Tuesday, which France reached as the second of group B.
With the victory against the vice-European champion, Germany is set as one of the two best teams of the group phase for the draw of the round of the last eight - they will thus get supposedly easier opponents and cannot meet each other until the final. Currently, only the Canadians have 3:0 victories, on Saturday, gold favorite USA with superstar LeBron James can still add one. Consequently, Germany could potentially avoid the Americans until the very end.
Electric atmosphere in Lille
In front of 27,000 enthusiastic spectators in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy, game three of the German-French "play-off series" took place. In preparation, the DBB team first suffered a 66:90 defeat without Daniel Theis and Franz and Moritz Wagner, before achieving German revenge (70:65) in the second test without the ill Wembanyama. Almost exactly a month later, it was about place one in the group, but the air was thick.
In an atmosphere worthy of a Champions League football match, the Germans restricted Wembanyama's space early on and led the opponent in phases. From an incredibly focused defense that only allowed "Wemby" four points in the first half, Germany played into a frenzy. Schröder, Franz Wagner, or even Johannes Voigtmann hit absurd threes, seven of 13 attempts went in - the result was a 21-point lead at halftime.
Even afterwards, the Germans initially remained focused. Although the French found their three-point shot better, Wagner and Co. kept the lead stable. The NBA pro from Orlando Magic lined up one highlight after another, his monster dunk including bonus free throw to 67:44 reminiscent of the raw power of Giannis Antetokounmpo. In the final quarter, France fought back under the cheers of the fans, Isaia Cordinier scored multiple times - but could not prevent the German group victory.
The German basketball team, having defeated France and their standout player Victor Wembanyama, secured a top position for the final round in Paris, setting their sights on an Olympic medal. After the victory, Germany is positioned as one of the two best teams in the group phase, potentially avoiding tough opponents like the United States until the final.
As the group stage progresses, the German squad will continue their impressive performances at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, aiming to maintain their winning streak and clinch a spot in the Olympics' last eight in Paris.
