By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Gordon Herbert had a tense time out with Dennis Schroder, Dennis Schroder had just 4/26 FG in the crucial game against Latvia, but coach Herbert got his back.
Not only he kept him on the floor, giving the ball in his hands, but he is also certain that his star will deliver.
As Herbert said: “I have no doubt he will bounce back, adversity builds strength, and he has a tough day. He is a tough kid, super competitive, and he will bounce back”.
Considering that the next game will be the semifinal against the USA, Herbert admitted that he needs a lot to be better compared to the performance against Latvia: “Oh boy, where do you want me to start? Offensively and defensively. We must not give up points, We had just 10 assists, this is the biggest thing we have to work on”.
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Forward Johannes Thiemann talked about his performance coming off the bench, adding that in the next game against USA it should be better if the whole team delivers from the get-go: “I am happy that I was able to get the push out of the bench. It’s super important for our national team, We lost to the semis in the Eurobasket, but this year we want to make up for that. I tried to get my team the push from the bench. I am happy it worked, I hope in the next game it will not be needed against the USA. It’s going to be a challenge, but we have big goals and we have to beat teams like the USA in order to achieve big things”.
After all, this is the first time that the Germans are playing in the World Cup semifinals since 2002, when Dirk Nowitzki was leading the team.
“It’s crazy to be here in the semifinals, means a lot about the German basketball world. We had a good run in the Eurobasket and now we are here”, added Thiemann.
Coach Herbert also gave credit to their quarterfinal opponent, Latvia: “I give Latvia a lot of credit, they are the best team in Europe that nobody talks about. They play great basketball, shoot the basketball, and miss many guys. They are great”.
Speaking about his team, he admitted: “We won, it wasn’t pretty, we were stinking on the offensive end, and our bench once more was outstanding. Franz Wagner really picked us up and I can’t say much for our bench tonight”.