Germany slow down Doncic, get statement win over Slovenia

MUNICH (Germany) - Germany made a major statement in their quest to reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 by holding down Luka Doncic and surprising Slovenia with a 90-71 blowout home victory in the European Qualifiers.

Germany carried a strong 28-15 third quarter to a win over a team they will face in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 Group Phase, on September 6 in Cologne.

Dennis Schroder and Johannes Voigtmann both collected double-doubles while Franz Wagner had 16 points for a determined and balanced German side. For the first time in some time, Doncic looked human even though he scored 23 points as he made just 6-of-16 shots and 6-of-11 free throws.

Turning point: Germany were leading 36-33 early in the third quarter and then put together a 12-3 run to build a 48-36 cushion. The hosts continued to push and extended the margin out to 17 points in the third quarter. Germany did not let Slovenia get close again.

Game hero: Schroder had a poor first half in terms of shooting, missing all seven of his shots in going scoreless though he had five assists. The NBA guard poured it on in the second half with all 17 of his points and also finished with 10 assists. 

Stats don't lie: Germany totally dominated the battle of the glass, out-rebounding the visitors 56-27. That figure included 20 offensive boards, which gave the hosts a 15-0 advantage on second chance points. Voigtmann was a force in the paint with 14 rebounds to go with his 11 points.  Slovenia's usual high powered offense connected on just 41.9 percent from the field and made just 12-of-23 free throws for 52.2 percent. 

Bottom line: Germany took a major step to locking up a spot in the FIBA World Cup next summer as they improved to 7-1 in Group J. Slovenia missed a chance to pull even on record with Germany and dropped to 5-3.

They said:
"Slovenia is a very, very good team. They have one of the best players in the world with Luka Doncic. But the bigs did a really good job grabbing the offensive rebounds off our misses in the first half. And also how they fought in the second half. I am very, very proud of the team. In the second half, we played very, very well. But still, we have to stay humble and grounded. We got one victory and we will play them again in the EuroBasket. So we have to be cautious." - Dennis Schroder, Germany

"We don't really care (if people see it as a statement win). We just want to show what we can do. We want to get better each and every game and execute what the coaches give us. We won the game on the boards, on defense. We didn't really shoot well on three but we got open shots and we got some easy baskets in transition and from the offensive glass. Our effort and energy won the game today." - Franz Wagner, Germany

"Giving up those offensive rebounds was the key to the game for us. When they get in a rhythm they get a lot of confidence. We have to be better, especially on the defensive rebounds. They were very physical. We have to do a better job executing our offense against that physicality. We’re known as an offensive team and putting up 71 points on probably very inefficient shooting is not our game. We need to work on that. We need to be ready. We started the game well but after that we didn't play well." - Mike Tobey, Slovenia

 
FIBA