Lo, Theis reveal keys to stopping Giannis and remarkable shooting night / News - Basketnews.com

German national team members Maodo Lo and Daniel Theis revealed that they looked at Czech Republic's approach on how to contain Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

After 17 years, Germany's national team came back to the semifinals of a major FIBA competition.

Player of the Game EFF 22 Dennis Schroder Points 26 Accuracy 8-15 Rebounds 3 Assists 8

The Deutschland GOAT Dirk Nowitzki was also there, but he was only watching his natives from the VIP lounge.

They faced one of the best players in the world, Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they stood firm.

They didn't have a generational player on the court. But they had so many great pieces that made a fantastic team.

Germany was a fun team to watch at the group stage in Cologne. But in the playoffs, it translated into a winning group of guys who are very hard to stop.

They pulled off another EuroBasket upset by sending the Greeks home 107-96.

"I think we always had pretty big faith in ourselves," Maodo Lo said to BasketNews after a victory.

"At the beginning of the tournament, we set a goal to win a medal. I think it's not the perception of European basketball, but we knew we have quality players from the NBA, EuroLeague, and domestic leagues. We continued to build our chemistry throughout the years. Once we played the first round against Lithuania, France, and Slovenia, once we had those wins, we understood we could play and achieve something," the ALBA Berlin guard explained.

"From the first day. When we met in the summer, we said we wanted to win the medal. Our group was tough, but we believed in ourselves, and it prepared us for the game today," Daniel Theis added.

First, they had to stop Giannis.

A former NBA finals MVP had 30 points on 13 or 22 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished 8 assists, turned the ball over 5 times, had the 3rd worst plus-minus (-19), and was ejected in the fourth quarter.

Germany / Schedule

Hungary Germany71-106 Germany Montenegro85-79 Germany Greece107-96 Germany SpainFri18:30

Most importantly, others around didn't shine. They went for 21 of 48 from the field (43.8%).

"We saw the way the Czech played against Greece. They build the wall with three players at the time. Obviously, they had Dorsey and other players able to shoot threes, but I think this was a priority to try to copy the way the Czech played, always building the wall with the help of at least 3 or 4 defenders," Lo explained.

"Obviously, we watched the game against the Czech Republic, who did an awesome job on Giannis," Theis said. "It was the same with long rebounds. The second half was almost perfect for us. After we limited them to one shot, we all got in rebounding. And that's important."

Germany limited Greece to 11 offensive boards, slightly better than the Czechs (14), but in a fast-paced high-scoring game, that was a decent number.

Especially the way Germany managed to turn things around in the third quarter.

After allowing the Greeks to score 61 first-half points, Germany went on a 20-1 run and let them score the first field goal after 12 missed shots and only 2 minutes to play in the third quarter.

"We understood we made mistakes in the first half, and we didn't play well. We allowed and-ones, we had fouls to give, and we gave up transition points. These are mistakes. We understood we made them, and we fixed them to have a chance," Lo told BasketNews.

But none of it would have taken them to this huge victory if Germany wasn't boosted by such a shooting night.

They went for 17 3-pointers, tying the third-best mark in this tournament, and left only Spain ahead in scored points after regulation (Spain scored 114 over Bulgaria).

Germans went on fire from the jump, hitting 8 3-pointers in the first quarter.

Schroder, a 22% 3-point shooter in this EuroBasket, went for 3 of 6 beyond the arc.

Andreas Obst was 4 of 5 before halftime.

Franz Wagner hit 5 threes out of 7 attempts, including a step-back shot over Giannis Antetokounmpo that established a double-digit lead.

It was a remarkable night for the entire German team.

"We have a good team. I think we have different players with different qualities. One of our strengths is that every player can bring his qualities to the game," Lo told BasketNews.

"Every player has a moment in the tournament," Theis added. "For example, today Obst made incredible shots. This is one of our qualities. We have a deep team, and we had great chemistry today."

"We believe in ourselves. We share the ball. We had moments where Dennis or Franz took over. With all their switching, we had to move the ball. We believed in each other. We have a goal. And we only can reach this goal as a team," concluded the Indiana Pacers forward.

There will be many stories that German players one day will be able to tell their kids after this inspiring night.

But Germans hope this will be only one of a few wonderful memories that might still be created in the last two games of EuroBasket.

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