Germany erased a seven-point deficit in the closing seconds of the third quarter and held off Slovenia, 99-91, on Wednesday to claim the final spot in the EuroBasket semifinals.
Forward Franz Wagner paced the defending FIBA World Cup champions with 23 points and seven rebounds at Arena Riga in Latvia. Point guard Dennis Schröder added 20 points and seven assists, while former NBA center Daniel Theis supplied 15 points and nine boards. Tristan Da Silva ignited a decisive 10-0 run by banking in a half-court shot at the third-quarter buzzer, trimming Slovenia’s lead to 74-70.
Maodo Lo and Andreas Obst chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively, each drilling late three-pointers that preserved Germany’s advantage down the stretch.
Slovenian star Luka Dončić set a EuroBasket quarterfinal scoring record with 39 points and nearly posted another triple-double, finishing with 10 rebounds and seven assists despite picking up his fourth foul early in the second half.
After the game, Slovenia criticized the officiating. Center Alen Omić pointed to Germany’s 37 free-throw attempts compared with Slovenia’s 25 and argued that Dončić “is not protected the way he needs to be.” Dončić also questioned a first-quarter technical foul, telling Slovenia’s Sport TV that such a call “shouldn’t happen in a quarterfinal.”
The semifinal round resumes Friday in Riga, where Germany meets Finland before Greece faces Turkey. The gold-medal and third-place games are scheduled for Sunday. FIBA has already slotted the eliminated quarterfinalists: Lithuania finished fifth, followed by Poland, Slovenia and Georgia.
Source: Hoops Rumors
