By Cesare Milanti/ info@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – After averaging 10.4 points per game in the preliminary round of EuroBasket 2025, helping Germany move to the knockout stage as the top seed of Group B, Tristan da Silva talked to Eurohoops before a Round of 16 clash with Portugal.
“It’s been really good,” he discussed debuting at the senior level with Germany, alongside his brother, Oscar da Silva, “Most of these guys I’ve watched growing up playing basketball. So, it’s really funny to be on the same team with them. They’re all super welcoming with open arms when I got into the first practice, into the first meeting. Everybody’s super chill, super cool. And they’re easy to play with, easy to be around. So, it was really, really exciting to be a part of this team.”
“It’s really humbling,” he added, “It’s really fun to be a part of this, put yourself aside and play for the better of the group, and just know how much dedication it takes to be at this point and have an appreciation for what the guys have already accomplished and done to bring German basketball to the point where it’s at right now and keep pushing it to higher levels.”
Besides his brother, other links to the German national team are Orlando Magic teammates, Franz and Moritz Wagner, even though the latter was ruled out of the offseason tournament due to injury.
“We talked a lot about the national team and how much it means to them and how fun it is to play here and to come here and know everybody’s playing for the right reasons and everybody loves just to come together as a nationality and represent the country, and it’s a really special thing to be part of this,” he said.
Germany missed previously hospitalized head coach Alex Mumbru throughout pool play in Finland, and also lost Johannes Voigtmann to injury.
“We had a lot of motivations,” da Silva referred to unexpected issues disrupting the German campaign, “We have a lot of different reasons why we play, and then the way we play I think represents that really well.”
On the way to clash with Portugal in Xiaomi Arena on Saturday, fellow NBA player Neemias Queta emerges as the biggest threat for Germany.
“Yeah, definitely,” he projected an adjusted approach by the 26-year-old center of the Boston Celtics, compared to previous NBA clashes, “It’s always national pride on the line. So you know everybody’s a little more pumped up, a little extra motivated. FIBA rules are also a little bit different. So, he probably has another extra presence in the paint, being able to stay in the paint and tip basketballs off the rim and stuff like that. So, we know that we already looked at some of the scouting that we’ve done. But it’s gonna be fun.”
Photo Credit: FIBA