European Basketball Championship | German basketball players achieve the double

The German basketball team is European champion. They defeated Turkey 88-82 in the final in Riga on Sunday evening, achieving the rare double of world and European championship titles. Captain Dennis Schröder led the team to bronze in 2022, World Championship gold a year later, and now to the top of Europe. They only narrowly missed a medal at the 2024 Olympics, finishing fourth.

The German team dominated the preliminary round, but then struggled through the knockout phase as the Turks reached their peak. They also got off to a better start in the final. The first two three-pointers from long-time NBA pro Cedi Osman, a crawl and three-pointer from Shane Larkin, and a hook shot from superstar Alperen Sengun found their way into the basket, while the Germans were frustrated by the fast Turkish defense until the score was 2:13 down. Berlin native Franz Wagner then initiated the comeback with a three-pointer of his own and his first block on defense, which Isaac Bonga and Dennis Schröder quickly completed to make it 14:14. At the end of the opening quarter, the German Basketball Association (DBB) team even led 24:22.

Nevertheless, the German team couldn't pull away because they couldn't get a grip on Sengun in the second quarter. The versatile Houston Rockets center not only scored from all angles, but also drew foul after foul on German centers Daniel Theis and Johannes Thiemann, forcing them to play even more cautiously. On offense, the most experienced German players, Theis and Schröder, also committed an unusually high number of easy turnovers. At halftime, the Turks were ahead 40-46.

"It was tough. We have to play faster, capitalize on our opportunities better, and help each other better," demanded winger Isaac Bonga in an interview with Magentasport at halftime. He ended up being named the final's best player with 20 points. In the duel between NBA stars, Sengun had 15 points after 20 minutes, while Wagner (Orlando Magic) had even scored 16. Only the second German star remained unusually quiet. Captain Schröder contributed only two free throw points. However, he immediately started the second half with a successful three-pointer. The DBB team was back in the game.

In front of Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the game unfolded as a thrilling, consistently close and competitive, but above all, high-quality match. This was hardly surprising, given that this was a clash between the only two teams that had won all eight of their previous matches. As was the case at the last European Championship in Germany in 2022, the most evenly matched teams once again prevailed against those that relied primarily on a superstar in their ranks. The highly-rated Serbians were eliminated in the round of 16, having relied solely on Nikola Jokić after Bogdan Bogdanović's injury, making them too predictable in attack.

In the subsequent rounds, the Germans first eliminated Slovenia, led by Luka Dončić, and then the Finns, led by their superstar Lauri Markkanen, while the Turks took care of Giannis Antetokounmpo and his Greek team. Thanks to a 92-89 victory in the bronze medal match against Finland on Sunday, Antetokounmpo was able to secure a medal with the Greek national team for the first time in his illustrious career.

In the grand finale a few hours later, both teams continued to rely on variable offense and intensive defense. The Turks pulled away somewhat, but the Germans kept catching up. Wagner and Schröder increasingly struggled, but role players Andreas Obst and Bonga scored to put the team ahead 77-76 a good three and a half minutes before the final whistle. And when Turkey struck back once more, captain Schröder suddenly took over, scoring the final six points of the game to clinch the victory.

The German team was able to compensate for the injuries of Johannes Voigtmann and Moritz Wagner, who had been key players in the 2023 World Championship gold medal. In addition, new head coach Alex Mumbru was ill and unable to coach the team during the games. His assistant coach Alan Ibrahimagic took over and led the German Basketball Federation (DBB) men to gold. "Now I'm filled with joy. The game was close the whole time. But as so often happens, we showed greater quality in the end," Ibrahimagic said, summing up the final.

Only the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Spain had previously achieved the feat of simultaneously holding both World and European titles. Germany has now also launched a dynasty that is also internationally recognized. With Schröder and Wagner, two players were voted among the top five of the European Championship, and Schröder was even named the tournament's most valuable basketball player again after the World Cup.