Germany’s big men have been making a name for themselves in a deep and mighty Group B. They’d started their campaign with an admirable 3-0 record. Instead, Sanders’s squad put together an impressive 107-88 win against Lithuania. With this victory they clinched their place in the knockout stage, becoming the first team to guarantee a spot in the round of 16.
In the match held recently, Dennis Schröder emerged as a standout player for Germany, scoring 26 points and contributing six assists. His contributions proved especially key as Germany proved to be the most dangerous offensive team in the entire tournament, thriving from deep. The team shared the ball beautifully, dishing out 24 assists on 26 made field goals, and finished lethal from the three-point range, hitting 19/35 (54%) from downtown. Schröder himself was 5-of-10 from deep, further shooting up the importance of his play in the win.
Even with this loss, Lithuania is still in the group, sitting at 2-1 and very much in the mix. Rokas Jokubaitis was Lithuania’s leading scorer with 20 points, and veteran pivot Jonas Valanciunas helped the cause with 14 points. Though it would not be enough to stop Germany’s savage attack.
Back in Group D, France picked up where they left of too, stretching their winning run to 2-0 with a 103-95 victory over Slovenia. Sylvain Francisco was the star of the match for France, scoring 32 points and helping his team secure a vital win.
These important matchups are indicative of the crazy competition we’ve seen in this year’s tournament. The Tournament Teams are jostling aggressively to position themselves for the knockout phases. Germany’s convincing display against Lithuania secures top spot in Group B. It would create an intimidating bar for other would-be advancing teams to clear.
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