Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic were able to get to know the German basketball players this summer, and now the third big name is waiting in the European Championship quarter-finals in Berlin on Tuesday evening (8:30 p.m. / Magentasport): Giannis Antetokounmpo from Greece.
"He's Giannis Antetokounmpo, he's one of the best players in the world," said Dennis Schröder before the showdown with the 27-year-old, who is one of the top three players in the North American professional league NBA. "He has a winning mentality that he has brought to the NBA for years. It will be a challenge for me."
Greece still undefeated
Antetokounmpo has also played well for Greece at the European Championship so far. In the group stage, he managed 29.5 points per game, a record for the tournament. He also shaped the game with a strong second half in the round of 16 victory against the Czech Republic. "It's the same with him as with LeBron James. They will do their game - in the end you have to try to scale down the others. It's almost impossible to stop Giannis," said Germany captain Schröder.
After the surprising loss of the Serbs against Italy, co-favorite Greece is the last remaining team without a defeat at this European Championship. "Mathematically we are unbeaten, but what was in the past is history. We want to play even better. We had difficult moments," said coach Dimitrios Itoudis. His professional Georgios Papagiannis added: "Germany have been playing very well since the tournament started. We have to play great defense to stay in the tournament."
"We have to be vigilant and get stops," Schröder demanded. National coach Gordon Herbert said about Antetokounmpo: "He's a great basketball player, one of the top players in the world." The forward with the nickname "The Greek Freak" is characterized above all by its athleticism and its penetrating power.
Hoping for Wagner and Weiler-Babb
Germany's basketball players isolate themselves from the big quarter-finals of the European Championship. According to the German Basketball Federation (DBB) in Berlin, there should be no more official training on Monday. National coach Gordon Herbert had already released the Sunday after the 85:79 round of 16 victory over Montenegro. The program included video training and family time. It is unclear whether Franz Wagner (ankle) and Nick Weiler-Babb (shoulder) can be there against the co-favourite.
