Dennis Schröder’s DBB team also lost the match for third place at the VGT Supercup in Hamburg with 71:62. The team of coach Henrik Rödl kept pace deep into the third quarter, but all in all the many turnovers decided the game in favour of the Italians.
The best scorers on the German side were Dennis Schröder with 21 points and Maxi Kleber with 10 points in front of 3289 spectators. Despite a strong performance, their semi-final defeated Turkey 79:100 on Friday.
“We have now seen many situations with which we have had great problems. These must now be analysed and analysed. Nevertheless, I would have liked to win this game because the team entered the match with a lot of energy,” said coach Rödl after the match.
The coach could see from the sideline that his second NBA professional Maximilian Kleber was more present against Italy at the beginning than the day before. The 26-year-old brought the hall to a boil with an Alley Oop after the prudent Schröder played 13-5 – Germany led 26-16 after the first quarter, but once again the home team had an extremely weak second section with only eight points of their own and Italy passed by.
As in almost the entire qualification for the World Cup, Rödl had to do without three important pillars for his team in Hamburg. Besides Daniel Theis and Johannes Voigtmann, Captain Robin Benzing was also missing.
So others had to jump into the breach and support Schröder. Kleber played a spectacular block (26th) in the defense, Center Maik Zirbes radiated danger under the opponent’s basket. But Italy scored better from a distance, leading 60:51 ahead of the final quarter. Schröder and Co. tried everything again in the remaining ten minutes, but three of the guests repeatedly caused setbacks.
Already against Turkey, the German team had revealed problems in defending the litters from outside. “We deservedly lost,” said Rödl and announced an exact video study of the mistakes.
On the way to the 2019 World Cup in China, the team around national coach Rödl must prove itself against Estonia in Tallinn next Thursday. The next task in Leipzig against Israel will follow on Sunday. With an impeccable record so far, Germany has the best prospects for a ticket to the World Cup.