European Basketball Championship: Germany just one win away from the title

The world champions are now also aiming for the European Championship title. Two years after the sensational World Championship triumph in Manila, the next big coup for the German basketball players is just around the corner. The team, led by NBA star Franz Wagner and captain Dennis Schröder, won its semifinal against underdog Finland 98-86 (61-47) in Riga , thus reaching the European Championship final for the first time in 20 years. Back then, Germany, with Dirk Nowitzki, won silver.

In the final on Sunday (8 p.m./RTL and MagentaSport), the team of interim national coach Alan Ibrahimagic will face the winner of the second semifinal, between Greece and Turkey . Against Finland, Schröder and Wagner were the top German scorers with 26 and 22 points, respectively. Schröder also contributed twelve assists in front of 10,047 spectators. European Championship semifinals in 2022, World Cup title in 2023, fourth place at the Olympics in 2024, and now in the European Championship final – Germany's basketball players are experiencing the most successful era in their history. "We are one of the best teams in the world; we've proven that often enough," Wagner said before the semifinal. He and his team impressively confirmed this impression in the Latvian capital.

Already in the preliminary round clear victory against Finland

In the group stage in Tampere, Finland, Germany had already outclassed the co-hosts of the European Championship 91-61. But that didn't matter to the Germans. "The victory from the preliminary round no longer counts. Finland will have the first game on their minds; they'll want revenge," said center Daniel Theis.

The situation was strongly reminiscent of last year's ultimately disappointing Olympic Games. At the Olympics, too, the German team was celebrated after a gala preliminary round performance against host France, only to then fail in the semifinals in their second encounter with the French and later find themselves without a medal at all. "I still remember the games against the French. We took it a bit lightly and switched off – that can't happen to us this time," captain Schröder warned.

And yet, just as in the two previous games in Riga, the world champions once again slept through the start. The Finns, who were reaching the semifinals of a European Championship for the first time ever, started off full of euphoria and, buoyed by the thousands of Finnish fans in the arena, pulled away to a 14-6 lead. Germany, on the other hand, didn't have much going for them at first, with Franz Wagner missing his first four shots. But the German team remained calm and improved. Schröder scored a three-pointer, then Wagner slammed the ball into the basket with a dunk. The German attack machine now got rolling.

Schröder and Wagner lead the team

The Finns, on the other hand, weren't shooting as well as they had been in the first five minutes. After the first quarter, Germany led by four points (30:26) and steadily increased their advantage thereafter. At one point, the world champions had opened a 19-point lead (49:30). At one point, even Wagner was hitting his shots from distance, and at halftime, Germany led by 14 points.

After the break, the Finns tried everything again and narrowed the gap to six points (73:79). Germany faltered briefly but kept its cool and pulled away again, led by Schröder, who recorded a double-double midway through the third quarter. This was despite Ibrahimagic having only ten players available, as Johannes Voigtmann (knee surgery) and Justus Hollatz were sidelined with a foot injury. Both watched the final from the German bench, where national coach Alex Mumbru, still in poor health, also sat.