Olympic Tournament in Lille - "Have fun": Women's basketball players can take a loss
The German women's basketball team clapped the US stars friendly and got a final applause in Lille. Even after clearly missing the surprise against the Olympic champion, the team of national coach Lisa Thomaidis can travel to Paris full of confidence, where the knockout round awaits from Wednesday.
"Of course, we're taking a lot with us. I don't think this game really reflects who we are. I had fun, and that's what it's about. We're in the quarterfinals," said Satou Sabally after the clear 68:87 (29:41) at the end of the preliminary round.
With this, the Olympic debutant ends the group phase as runner-up behind the USA, who seem almost unbeatable on their way to gold. Who Germany will face in the fight for a place in the semifinals will be decided by the draw on Sunday evening. "It doesn't matter who comes. We just have to do our thing," said Sabally, who was again the top German scorer with 15 points.
Leonie Fiebich is a cause for concern. The performance carrier injured her hand in the third quarter and could not continue playing. The German team had already had to do without Nyara Sabally. The younger of the two Sabally sisters was not yet fully fit after her mild concussion from the opening game against Belgium and was therefore rested with an eye on the quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Strong German start
But even without the 22-year-old from WNBA club New York Liberty, the German team initially showed no respect for the seemingly all-powerful opponent. Especially Fiebich had a lot in mind. Fiebich, who plays in the WNBA together with Nyara Sabally and the two Americans Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart in New York, scored eight points in the first quarter.
This way, the 24-year-old had a big part in Germany surprisingly leading 15:6 and forcing US coach Cheryl Reeve to take a first timeout. There was no sign of the foot injury Fiebich had sustained against Japan. After the first quarter, Germany sensationally led 19:16.
USA step up
The USA had to bring out their best performance so far to contain the cheeky German team. With much more aggressive defensive play and more focus, the US team, which last lost a game at the Olympics in 1992, turned the game around and led 12-0 at halftime.
Numerous easy turnovers were provoked by the Americans' increased intensity. Five of them were on Satou Sabally's account, who acted somewhat unlucky after a strong start. After the break, Germany continued to hold their own and narrowed the gap to eight points (41:49). But after Fiebich's exit, the game was decided.
In the preliminary round, Germany played against the US team in Lille and ended as the runner-up, with the Olympic champion securing the top spot. Despite the loss, Leonie Fiebich, a key player for Germany, injured her hand and had to leave the game.
