Retaliation in London: German basketball players test against USA

LONDON (dpa) — Germany’s basketball players will once again compete against a star team from the United States in the 2024 Olympic year. As announced by both associations, the fight will take place ahead of the Olympics on July 22 (8pm) at the O2 Arena in London.

The Olympic basketball tournament is a few days away from July 27 to August 11 in Lille and Paris, where the Olympic champion and the world champion will meet. Germany won a thrilling 113:111 semi-final at the World Cup in Manila.

National coach Gordon Herbert said: “It’s a great opportunity to play against the USA ahead of the Olympics. Final practice with a game against the favorite competition for the Olympic Games. It’s a perfect indicator for us.” Before the World Cup in Asia, the Germans had completed their last Test against the USA. In Abu Dhabi, they lost 91:99 despite a clear lead. The USA meet South Sudan in London two days earlier.

A Test match against France is also planned

Ahead of the Olympics, Germany is testing not only against the USA but also against hosts France, who plan to field super-talent Victor Vembaniyama. The match is scheduled for July 6 (4pm) in Cologne.

By winning their own World Cup title, head coach Herbert’s team avoided one of the qualifiers. Slovenia and Greece will meet in one of four matches. That means neither Slovenia’s star Luka Doncic nor Greece’s model Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the Olympics in Paris.