How Germany qualified for the Olympics without Dennis Schroder / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

The German National Team surprised many by beating everybody on their way to advancing to the Tokyo Olympic Games. They did it while being the youngest squad in the entire Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Split, Croatia.

Germany / Schedule

Germany Mexico82-76 Russia Germany67-69 Germany Croatia86-76 Germany Brazil75-64

The average age of the German team was only 27. Not to mention, they went into the OQT without their star Dennis Schroder. He is expected to hit the NBA free-agent market and should have plenty of suitors. Therefore, the guard decided against representing the German NT this summer.

However, as a recent report by Harrison Faigen of SBNation suggests, Schroder was inspired by Germany's run in the OQT and wants to suit up for his country.

“If there is a possibility, then that would, of course, be great,” Schroder told Zeit Online. “I’m always available, but my situation is not that easy. But I hope we can sort that out by then. My agent has to do his job now. The German national team has done its job, let’s see.”

As mentioned in this tournament's preview, the Germans still had plenty of talent on their squad. 21-year-old Isaac Bonga plays for the Washington Wizards, and 24-year-old Moritz Wagner represents the Orlando Magic.

Germany's roster was also filled with EuroLeague players. At the forefront, they had ALBA Berlin teammates Maodo Lo and Johannes Thiemann. CSKA Moscow's Johannes Voigtmann, Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul's Danilo Barthel, and the newest addition with Zalgiris Kaunas, Niels Giffey, finished the list.

Germany played three matches to prepare for the Olympic qualifiers. Interestingly in two of those games, they faced (and defeated) teams that ended up winning their respective qualifying tournaments. First, Germany blew out the Czech Republic (95-62). After that, they took care of Tunisia (105-75) and, in the final tuneup game, defeated Italy (91-79).

Points this season

43%78,0Points made:78,0Accuracy:43,0%Place in standings:13Record max:86Record min:69Best scorer:Moritz WagnerTeamOQTStatisticsSchedule

Meanwhile, their first opponent in the OQT - Mexico - had six games to prepare for the tournament. That may have been the reason for Germany's slow start. For 32 minutes, they were trailing and went into the fourth quarter with a five-point deficit (62-67).

However, that's when Germany locked down defensively and put a lid on their rim, holding Mexico to four points in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. The Germans scored 16 of their own on the other end to open up a 78-71 lead with four minutes to play. Even the magnificent play from Paco Cruz could not save Mexico at that point, and the match wrapped up with an 82-76 German victory.

Cruz ended the game with 30 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and two steals. However, that was not enough. One player that was overlooked before this tournament was Joshiko Saibou. The 31-year-old guard plays for the Champagne Chalons Reims Basket. It is only natural that the players from flashier teams were predicted to overshadow Saibou.

But the backup point guard proved his worth, leading Germany in scoring with 17 points. Germany were a +13 team with him on the floor. No other player was in double digits in the +/- category.

Germany only shot 39.1% from the field but were able to find other scoring options. They were aggressive on offense and drew 28 fouls, which turned into 31 attempted free throws. The Germans converted 25 of them into points (80.6%). In comparison, Mexico drew 20 fouls, shot 19 free throws, and capitalized on 11 of them (57.9%).

Germany's next opponents were Russia, who lost their first game to Mexico 64-72. They had to beat Germany by seven points to qualify for the semifinals. Russia were in the lead for most of the game and had a three-point advantage going into the fourth quarter (50-53).

But once again, Germany showed character in the fourth period. They tied the game with 6:19 remaining and quickly gained a lead (61-60). With the help of Johannes Voigtmann and Maodo Lo, Germany sealed a 69-67 victory. Joshiko Saibou was in the spotlight again, scoring 11 points and having the best +/- on the team again (+16).

The team was aggressive on offense, drawing 30 fouls. However, Germany did not convert at the free-throw line efficiently, only making 14 of 24 (58.3%). Nevertheless, Germany defended without fouling, only giving up seven free throw attempts to Russia. The Russians only converted four (57.1%), so the free throw advantage was once again a key factor in Germany's win.

Germany finished first in their group, followed by Mexico and Russia, which was eliminated. The Germans were set to take on the hosts - Croatia - in the semifinals. After getting blown out by Brazil (67-94), the Croatians had everything to prove in front of their fans.

The game went great for Croatia for the first three quarters. They opened the fourth period with a seven-point lead (56-63) and Bojan Bogdanovic having already scored 30 points. However, that's when Germany showed once again why they were the kings of the fourth quarter.

Helped by their depth, Germany were slowly but surely gaining on Croatia. Maodo Lo's driving game torched Croatia, his assist to Niels Giffey made it a one-possession game, and then Lo found a way to get to the line and get Germany in front with 2:12 remaining (78-76).

Croatia could not buy a bucket in the last three minutes, and the air was gone out of the building. In the end, Bogdanovic had 38, but that was not enough, and Germany celebrated an 86-76 victory. Maodo Lo was magical in this game, scoring 29 points and adding eight assists. Joshiko Saibou aided with 13 points and five rebounds.

After only shooting nine free throws in the first three periods, the Germans went back to what got them over the hump in previous games and drew eight Croatian fouls. Germany made 10 of 11 free throws in the fourth (90.9%) while also relying on their size and limiting Croatia to 4 of 13 shooting (30.8%) from the field in the period.

Only one team was in the way of Germany qualifying for the Olympic Games at that point, and that was Brazil. The South American team also hadn't lost a game before the final matchup. They won both of their friendlies against Poland and blew out their competition in the OQT (Tunisia 83-57, Croatia 94-67, and Mexico 102-74).

Brazil started the game well and had a three-point advantage after the first (14-17). However, Germany locked Brazil up on defense and proceeded to win the remaining three quarters. Brazil's scoring leader Vitor Benite was held to just nine points (3 of 18 from the field). Before this game, Brazil averaged 93 points per contest, but Germany held them to just 64 and added 75 of their own. Mo Wagner had a dominant performance, scoring 28 points and grabbing six rebounds.

Lockdown defense and aggressive play on offense ultimately carried Germany to the Olympics. They drew 26 fouls and made 18 of 24 from the line (75%). On defense, the Germans only allowed Brazil to make 39.1% of their shots from the field, including 4 of 18 in the fourth quarter (22.2%).

Germany was not a good 3-point shooting team in the tournament, making only 30.5% of their long-range attempts. However, they more than made up for it with their aggression inside, drawing 27 fouls per game. The Germans converted them into 24.8 free throw attempts and making 18.5 per contest (74.7%).

On the other end, the tournament winners defended well and without fouling. Germany only averaged 19.5 fouls per game, not giving their opponents any easy points. Because of the depth and the youth of their team, Germany played textbook defense, especially during the fourth quarters. Their opponents only made 15 of 58 field goals in the fourth period over four games (25.9%), and that speaks volumes of Germany's focus and desire to win.

"I'm super happy, this is a dream come true for all of us. I am very happy and proud of my guys, and this is a very special moment for me. We are going to celebrate like crazy now," head coach Henrik Rodl said after the victory.

After asked about the absence of Dennis Schroder, coach Rodl said: "It's a great disappointment for him and us that he was not part of the team. But at the end of the day, he will be the leader of this group, and he was just as happy with this victory as we were. We made the best of this situation, and this team made the best out of every situation."

Finals hero Mo Wagner was also ecstatic about Germany's victory: "This means a lot to see my teammates and coaches emotional like that. This is an amazing group, one of the best teams I've been on. To continue to play with them is very special."

It is the first time in 13 years that Germany will play at the Olympics, with their last qualification coming after a similar tournament in Athens, Greece, back in 2008. Germany will play in Group B, where they will compete against Australia, Italy, and Nigeria.

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