Loss against Estonia: Germany’s basketball players screw up the start of the World Cup qualifiers

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A core team, weakened by numerous failures, lost 66:69 (34:30) against outsiders Estonia in Nuremberg and is already under pressure after the first of six group games.

The best German throwers in front of 1,000 spectators were Christian Sengfelder (21 points) and captain Robin Benzing (13), but it wasn’t enough against the Estonians who were particularly strong from the triple line. Kaspar Treier and Kristian Kullamae (15 each) were most successful for the guests.

Herbert starts his tenure with a massive mortgage. In order to stay in the race for the 32 World Cup tickets after the false start, a victory for Benzing and Co. in Poland is almost a must.

Numerous top players not there

Herbert, who is supposed to be responsible for the major projects at home EM 2022 and World Cup 2023 in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia in German basketball, had only a few top players available. All seven NBA professionals are not there, the players from master Alba Berlin and cup winners Bayern Munich played in the Euroleague on the same evening. “Of course it’s not easy,” said Vice President Armin Andres. But there are no excuses. “The World Cup is a very important event, a must, so to speak.” The announcement makes it clear how difficult a home defeat weighs against the supposedly weakest group opponent at the start.

Even the start did not go according to plan. In a very short time, the German team fell 6-0 down. The team, led by the young builder Justus Hollatz, made a lot of slight ball losses, several step errors were emblematic of the messed up initial phase.

Gripping final quarter

“You can tell they want and the fighting spirit is there. You want to make a difference, but you don’t have the interaction yet. That’s why it’s still a bit bumpy,” said Andres at “Magentasport”. It was a national team that had to find itself completely new without the absence of almost all top performers. In the newly built Nuremberg Arena, this was achieved for the first time shortly before half-time, when Hollatz contributed four quick points. Germany stood out a little.

But after the change it didn’t get any easier. Estonia, which had lost to Germany 43:86 in 2018, scored three after three and temporarily moved away by six points in the third quarter. National coach Herbert seemed at a loss on the sidelines. In the final quarter, a gripping duel developed with several changes in leadership. In the end, the Estonians stayed cool and prevailed at the last minute.