Basketball World Cup | DBB women beat Japan: Important victory in the living room

Nyara Sabally (r.) scored 18 points against the Japanese at her old place of work. Photo: imago/Beautiful Sports At the end of the first quarter the time had come. After the German basketball players had conjured up a 28:11 start against Japan, the sold-out Max-Schmeling-Halle made its own deafening noise as the entire audience stood and screamed. Then the noisy energy from the stands has nowhere to go. It bounces off the low ceiling and corners of the hall, flows through eardrums and bodies, and lands directly on the field.

For many in the German team, Saturday's game was a kind of return to their own living room. All of the German national team players have already sweated in the training halls attached to the Max Schmeling Hall. The Berlin natives in the World Cup squad, Nyara Sabally, Alexandra Wilke and Lina Sontag, have spent countless hours here. National coach Olaf Lange also knows the hall in his hometown very well. But they have never seen the DBB women play as loudly as they did on Saturday evening in their own game.

»We heard how loud the fans were. Even when Japan came back in the second quarter, everyone was still behind us. That gave us a huge boost," said Emma Eichmeyer after the important 74:58 win in the second group game. The 26-year-old from the Saarlouis Royals ensured that the German fans were immediately fired up with five quick points in the first minute of the game.

In contrast to the opening defeat against Spain a day earlier in the larger arena at Ostbahnhof, this time the German team presented itself with full determination from tip-off. In attack, the ball ran more fluidly and quickly through their own ranks. In defense, the DBB women used their physical advantages to disrupt the moves of the lively but significantly smaller Japanese women early on. »The way we started the game today was simply exciting. “We took the audience along straight away,” said national coach Lange happily.

Especially from a distance, the Asians never found their rhythm against the robust German defense. After the World Cup record of twenty successful three-point throws in the game against Mali on Friday, the Japanese only hit three of their 27 attempts this time.

On the offensive, Leonie Fiebich shone in a new role. The 26-year-old took over the role of playmaker for Alexis Peterson-Smalls, who was out due to food poisoning, and handed out seven strong assists. Because Fiebich lacked the luck to throw - only one of her nine attempts ended up in the basket - Nyara Sabally took over the scoring for the German team with 18 points and Frieda Bühner with 19 points.

"Sometimes when you have your back against the wall, the best comes out and we showed our best side today," said Lange, explaining the improvement in his players' performance, which was also urgently needed. Because Mali had completely unexpectedly beaten the Spanish on Saturday afternoon, Germany was suddenly the only winless team in Group A before the game against Japan. A defeat against the Asians would have come dangerously close to elimination after the group phase.

But the German basketball players showed their mental strength under pressure. The DBB team also weathered the weak phase in the second quarter, which brought Japan up to 34:29 by the break - and responded in the third quarter with a decisive 15:4 run.

The hosts didn't give up the lead they had gained in the final section, always spurred on by the enthusiastic spectators in the "small" World Cup hall. There was special praise from the national coach after the game: “The fans really supported us, especially in the third and fourth quarters.”

After the rest day on Sunday, Germany will now play against Mali on Monday evening. Because all teams in Group A currently have a win under their belt, anything is still possible before the last group game. With their own success and a defeat for the Spaniards against Japan, the DBB women could move straight into the quarter-finals as group leaders. In the worst case scenario, if they lose against the Africans, there is still a risk of elimination in the preliminary round.

What is certain, however, is that it was the last game for the German team in the Max Schmeling Hall. The group final against Mali will again take place in the Arena at Ostbahnhof and all games in the knockout phase will be played there. But the victory against Japan should have shown the German basketball players what it takes to really get their own fans involved in the game - so that the large World Cup arena can then become their own living room.

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