The fairytale is complete: The German 3×3 women not only won the first German basketball medal at the Olympic Games, but also took home gold in a dramatic final against Spain in front of the eyes of legend Dirk Nowitzki.
After an outstanding group phase, the German 3×3 women improved convincingly against fellow favorites Canada on Monday afternoon after a poor start and sensationally secured their place in the final with a 16:15 win. All of this under the watchful eye of German basketball icon Dirk Nowitzki, who was also there at the final against Spain and, like many others, naturally wanted gold.
His wish was granted: In an extremely exciting duel with the southern Europeans, which had its ups and downs, the Germans actually prevailed and were crowned champions to thunderous applause from the many fans on site. Gold medal winners, who also won the first German basketball medal ever at the Olympics.
High tension until the last second
The four German players Svenja Brunckhorst, Sonja Greinacher, Elisa Mevius and Marie Reichert started strongly and quickly took a 3-0 lead. But then they lost some of their strength, so that the Iberians themselves reached 6-4. Shortly afterwards, the score was already 8-5 for Spain, and the German athletes were losing ground at this point. They were not to be in the lead for a long time.
In addition, in this new-fangled 3×3 format – the team with the highest number of points at the end of the 10-minute match or the team that reaches 21 points first wins – the clock had to be kept in mind at all times. With just under five minutes left in the game, Brunckhorst & Co. found themselves clearly behind at 6:10 before the experienced 32-year-old professional player took responsibility herself and reduced the score to 8:10 with a “three-pointer” (which only counts as two points in 3×3 basketball).
Everything was heading towards a real thriller. With around two minutes to go, the score was 12:12 before Spain got back to 15:13. But just a few seconds later, after initially being 14:15 behind, Mevius bravely dribbled under the net to make it 15:15 with a layup.
However, Brunckhorst missed a throw, meaning Spain got the ball 40 seconds before the end – and Juana Camilion suddenly dribbled unnecessarily. A gift from the German perspective. And what a Spanish mistake, which Greinacher was able to exploit promptly to make it 17:15. The southern Europeans then made it 16:17 and a timeout followed, but they were unable to capitalize on it. A final throw landed at the rim from a difficult angle, but did not go in.
Coronation for Brunckhorst – hugs from “Dirkules”
After the final whistle, there was of course no stopping the game – IOC President Thomas Bach also applauded. The most prominent observer, Nowitzki, NBA champion of 2011 (Dallas Mavericks), World Championship bronze medalist of 2002 and European Championship silver medalist of 2005, quickly made his way onto the pitch. “Dirkules” beamed from ear to ear with the “gold girls” and gave the overjoyed winners a big hug as they posed for photos.
“Incredible!” said the 46-year-old noble fan about the 3×3 coup that saw the favorites rebound against Germany. “This is definitely historic.” Greinacher said at Eurosport: “The full realization of what we have done here, what we have achieved for basketball and women’s basketball in Germany – that will only come later.”
How cool is 3×3 basketball???
Toni Kroos on X, formerly Twitter
There were also songs of praise from further afield – for example on social media from fans or from Germany’s 2014 football world champion Toni Kroos, who wrote on X: “How cool is 3×3 basketball??? Congratulations ladies.”
Incidentally, the Olympic victory also marks the end of Brunckhorst’s career. For the 32-year-old, the tournament on the Place de la Concorde was the last in the national jersey – which she now crowned with the gold medal. The 83-time national player originally wanted to compete in the classic five-on-five in Paris. But the ambitious plan was not given the green light.
Brunckhorst focused on streetball – and gave her career a crowning conclusion before joining Alba Berlin as a manager to promote and develop girls’ and women’s basketball. Her final conclusion: “I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. A perfect ending.”
