Gordon Herbert seemed a bit taken aback. When he was asked about the goal for the 2023 World Cup on the TV microphone, the national basketball coach said: "I haven't thought about that yet. I will name the goal soon, but not tonight."

The 75:81 defeat in Slovenia was probably over by then, after all, after a furious year with bronze at the European Championships and eight victories in qualification, Germany is already certain to be in the final tournament, which will be held in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Now it's all about winning the group and a good starting position for the draw, which will take place in the spring of next year. Christian Sengfelder, who played in the qualifying windows and was also there the whole time at the European Championships, became the marathon man of the national team this summer. According to the Bamberg professional, he is not tired. "The battery is full. Basketball is a lot of fun for me. I try to sleep as much as possible and drink water - here and there for physio, I try to take care of my body," said Sengfelder at Magentasport.

Tournament is taking shape

The tournament in Asia (25 August to 10 September 2023) is also gradually taking shape away from the German team. European champions Spain will be there, as will the Italians and Latvians. Slovenia also managed to qualify with a home win in Koper against the bronze medalist at the European Championships. The Asian fans can look forward to top star Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. Although he can hardly play in the qualification due to the dense NBA schedule, he plans to participate in the big tournament again.