Greece had the best individual talent, but collectively Germany was the better team in Tuesday’s Olympic quarterfinal match. Staking an early lead, Germany wanted to trail Giannis Antetokounmpo and Greece 76-63 at Bercy Arena in Paris. This has made Germany’s men’s basketball team reach the semi-finals in the Olympics, Thanks to Wagner Brothers.
Wagner Brothers Lead the Charge
Franz Wagner became the leader of the Germans scoring 18 points to go along with 3 rebounds 2 assists and 2 steals. The Orlando Magic forward scored his 17 points from field goals where he was 8 of 17, but was not so great on the three-point line where he only managed to make 1 shot out of the 6 attempts that he made. Dennis Schroder scored 13 points and dished out eight assists and Johannes Thiemann scored 10 points. Moe Wagner also contributed well as he scored eight points, secured five rebounds on the court, and contributed with three assists.
Overcoming Early Struggles
The game, however, began on a sour note for Germany that saw the team getting into a 14-point deficit in the first quarter. But soon they started to ‘get into the groove’ as they began to use their physical strength, superior ability, and togetherness to take the game away from the Greeks. By halftime Germany equalized for the match and for the first time, they got the upper hand early in the third quarter. Although there was a revival from Greece, Germany replied tactfully.
Giannis Shines, But Germany Prevails
The tournament-leading points scorer goalie Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 22 points from 9 field tries out of 14. Thomas Walkup of Stephen F. Austin of naturalized Greek player chipped in 12 markers, while Kostas Papanikolaou, an ex-NBA generated 10 markers.
Semifinal Showdown Awaits
Now Germany is waiting for the semi-finals in which they will play against the winner of the Canada/France game. The German team has beaten France in the group stage and irrespective of the opponent in the final they will go into the game with a lot of confidence. The last face-off between Germany and Canada was in August 2023 in the DBB Super Cup final, in which Canada won by a small margin in overtime.
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