In the last action of the third quarter, Jakub Garbacz hit for three from the half of the pitch and the Lublin Globus jumped up with a shout of joy. A rare action was supposed to be an impulse that Poles needed to play against Germany. Garbacz’s beautiful throw reduced the losses to ten points – Germany, who played better from the beginning of the match, was leading 61:51.
However, there was no impulse, the guests were under control from the beginning of the fourth quarter result. It was only in the 36th minute that the stands jumped up again, because Aleksander Balcerowski had a flash. Highest in the frame (219 cm tall), and at the same time her youngest player (21 years old), first successfully blocked the opponent, and then scored four points in a row. The Polish team came closer at 62:67, but Dominic Lockhart scored for three and silenced the Poles again.
And in a nutshell – this is how this match looked like. The white-and-red men fought, chased, reduced their losses, and the Germans kept slipping them on the nose. Eventually they won 72:69 and in group D they have the balance 1-1. After two defeats, Poles are in the last place.
Just one good moment in the first half
Unlike in Thursday’s away match with Israel (defeat 61:69), this time the Poles did not surprise the Germans. The opponents were leading from the beginning – they defended reliably and calmly used the mistakes of the Poles in defense. Of course, there weren’t any of the seven players in the German squad NBA, the team in Lublin consisted of 11 players from the Bundesliga and Robin Benzing, who played in Italy. For the weakened Polish national team in the reconstruction (apart from the veterans from whom Igor Milicić resigned in Lublin, there were no injured Mateusz Ponitka, Michał Sokołowski and Michał Michalak), this was enough.
In the first half, the Poles actually had one good moment – a 6-0 spurt, when Andrzej Mazurczak appeared on the pitch in the fourth minute. That day – already the third quarterback after Marcel Ponitka and Jakub Schenk. The Poles led to a draw at 10:10, then they changed their defense to zone defense, but it didn’t help much – the Germans were still in the lead.
Weak attack, hole defense
At the beginning of the second quarter, the guests after series they even won 25:13. The Poles had big problems with the organization of the action – they did not find positions, they often threw from difficult times under the pressure of time. Playmakers lost balls more often than passed well, and if Schenk had missed three difficult throws, the result would have been even worse.
Aggressive defense all over the pitch? There was much less of it than in Israel. The Poles tried to exert pressure, but the Germans were prepared for it, several times they ended their operations with virtually no defense. The defensive trap at the midline was successful for the white and red once – in the second quarter, thanks to Michał Kolenda and Balcerowski. But three seconds after the interception, the former lost the ball …
The game is better, the result is the same
It was 30:40 by the break, but Milicic’s basketball players started better. First of all, in attack – the actions were faster, bolder, to the basket. Schenk started this part well, for a moment he took the burden of scoring points, and Jarosław Zyskowski also hit the basket. The problem is that the Germans also hit – especially from a distance. Lockhart or David Kramer were able to silence Poles with hits for three at moments when it seemed that the white and red were getting on. The demonstration action was played by the Germans in the 27th minute – after breaking from behind the end line behind his basket, with two passes without a goat and a Kramer dunk from the air.
And this game looked a bit like that – the Poles were getting closer to five points, the Germans responded with successful actions cutting their wings. In the 29th minute Benzing hit for three and the visitors took the lead by 61:48. After a while, Garbacz threw the three of them in half, but in the end it did not help much.
Poland comes last
Schenk scored the most points for the Polish team – 17. Thanks to a very good fourth quarter, Balcerowski scored 16 points. With the Germans, Kramer was the most successful with 24 points.
After two rounds, Israel is the leader of group D with the balance 2-0, defeating Estonia 79:69 away on Sunday.
The best three teams from the group will advance to the second stage of the World Cup. The next matches of the national team – February 25 and 28. Poles will play against Estonia twice these days: first away, and then at home.
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