Dennis Schröder makes the decision: German basketball players are European champions

The world champion is also the European champion. Two years after their sensational World Cup triumph in Manila, Germany's basketball players have also claimed the European crown. In an electrifying final in Riga, the team led by NBA pro Franz Wagner defeated Turkey 88-83 (40-46), thus celebrating their second European title after 1993. Spain had previously held both the World Cup and European Championship titles simultaneously.

The top German scorers, in the presence of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, were Isaac Bonga with 20 points and Franz Wagner with 18. This Monday, the German team will be welcomed back to Frankfurt am Main. A public party is planned starting at 11:30 a.m. at the headquarters of top sponsor ING. Two years ago, Dennis Schröder and his team also celebrated in the city on the Main River.

Another weak German start

"It's a fantastic opportunity to put German basketball back on the map and experience another historic summer," said Schröder before the final, one year after finishing fourth at the Olympics. "We've played a good tournament so far, but we still have potential to improve," announced Franz Wagner. But the German team was far from improving at the start. As in the previous games in Riga, the German team slept through the start, while the Turks simply continued their exhilarating game from the semifinal against Greece. The team, led by expert coach Ergin Ataman, got off to a furious start and quickly pulled ahead to 13-2.

But the German team remained calm and fought its way back into the game in the first quarter. Schröder tied the score at 14-14 from the free throw line, and shortly thereafter, Tristan da Silva put the world champions ahead for the first time with a three-pointer (19-16). After ten minutes, Germany was narrowly ahead at 24-22, but struggled with foul trouble early on. Both Daniel Theis and Isaac Bonga picked up early fouls and had to hold back from then on.

This became apparent in the second quarter. It was also noticeable that Schröder was surprisingly reserved in the first two quarters of the very intense game. Unlike in the previous knockout games, the captain was not at all aggressive, only taking his first shot from the floor midway through the second quarter.

Wagner, who scored 16 points by halftime, and Tristan da Silva, with crucial three-pointers, kept Germany in the game. At halftime, the world champions were only six points behind. Moreover, Turkish NBA star Alperen Şengün had already picked up three fouls after 20 minutes. Schröder had apparently injured his elbow early in the final and thus seemed to be not at full strength. But the German team had defied all adversities so far. Even before the tournament, the team had to cope with the withdrawals of world champion Moritz Wagner and NBA champion Isaiah Hartenstein.

At the start of the tournament, national coach Alex Mumbru was taken to hospital with pancreatitis, which is why Alan Ibrahimagic took over the reins.

Dennis Schröder scores 18 seconds before the end

And this time, too, the world champions defied the setbacks. After the break, Schröder improved, sinking his first three-pointer, and the German team took a 50-49 lead. Role players like Bonga, da Silva, and Johannes Thiemann also contributed to keeping the Turkish team in the lead. But Turkey – spurred on by the thousands of Turkish fans in the arena – held out fiercely and regained the lead 61-55. Even the still-weakened Mumbru tried to get the team back on track from the sidelines.

In the final quarter, the Turkish fans whistled and booed even louder, their team leading by six points. But Germany fought back and retook the lead with three and a half minutes left. The game went back and forth until the end – then Schröder converted the decisive shot with 18 seconds left.