By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – Two years after winning the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, Germany are back in the EuroBasket Final, reaching the first-place game on Sunday against either Greece or Turkiye.
To take down Finland in the competition’s Semi-Finals, they needed an amazing performance by both Dennis Schroder (26 points and 12 assists) and Franz Wagner (22 points).
“Hell of a game. I thought he did a great job of keeping us calm in tough moments during the game and staying aggressive,” Wagner opened on the team’s captain in the mixed zone.
When it comes to his personal performance, he believes he can be better. “I made some shots. I don’t think I played my best, but I got one more on Sunday. U have that one more chance,” he said.
“Next time, I need to read the defense a little bit better, but we have to give them a lot of credit,” he added. “They’re a great rebounding team offensively; like us, they want to run a lot, but we managed to keep them out of transition and just tried to keep them on half as much as possible,” Wagner shared.
Not only did he have a solid offensive outburst, but he also had to limit Lauri Markkanen on some occasions. “It was super tough. He’s a great player, really physical, great shooter, and with players like that, it’s always important to play defense,” Wagner continued.
He believes Isaac Bonga has earned a shot to return to the NBA. “I think he’s shown for a couple of years now that he’s an elite defender, and he shoots the three really well. He could help a lot of teams,” he said.
Now, they’re back to the final. “It’s super cool. We’ve had really successful years, but knowing where Germany was just a couple of years ago basketball-wise, you take a lot of responsibility and a lot of pride in that,” he said.
“[Winning EuroBasket] would mean a lot. I think we’ve created a lot of momentum since we won the World Cup, and hopefully we can keep that going on Sunday,” Wagner also commented.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA