Next win for the DBB Giants?

The highlight of the year from a German basketball point of view is of course the home European Championship in September with the preliminary round in Cologne and the final round, hopefully then also with the German team, in Berlin. Before that, however, there are still some tasks to be mastered in the qualification for next year’s World Cup in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines. The last match in the intermediate round is against the Poles in Bremen on Sunday.

Gordon Herbert’s team already have their place in the final six in the bag and can regard the match against the Poles as a test match, although they will have to be careful because they will take the points against the other two teams that will accompany Germany into the next round. Therefore, a win should be mandatory on Sunday as well.

The Poles have to win if they don’t want to be eliminated from the group last, because the direct comparison against Estonia and Israel is in favour of the competition and currently all three teams are tied on points. However, we think that there is no way around a prediction of a German home win in the match between Germany and Poland on Sunday.

Given the line-up the German team has at the start, there should actually also be a clear home win after the Germans already won the away match in Lublin.

Germany – statistics & current form

It will be the first match the German men’s basketball team will play in their own hall after the death of long-time national player Ademola Okulaja. It will certainly get emotional before the game, but at the latest at the tip-off, the sporting challenge must be in the foreground in order to take as many points as possible with them into the final qualifying round with a victory.

Germany on a winning streak

There are more World Cup qualifiers against Slovenia and Sweden or Croatia on the schedule immediately before the home European Championship. However, the German team should not think too far into the future. First of all, they have to extend their winning streak of four games in a row on Sunday in Bremen. We assume that you will only be successful in the duel between Germany and Poland with a bet on a home win.

On Thursday, the DBB giants were guests in Tallinn to take revenge for the home defeat against the Estonians on the first matchday. All in all, Gordon Herbert’s team delivered a very decent game and won in the end with a commanding 88:57. Statistically, Christian Sengfelder from Brose Bamberg was the most successful athlete of the German team with 23 points and nine rebounds.

On Sunday it will once again be a casting for the European Championship squad. Coach Herbert will not be playing captain Robin Benzing, Maodo Lo or the NBA pros Franz and Moritz Wager as well as Daniel Theis against Poland. But it should be clear that these players will join the team at the European Championship and also in the run-up to the World Cup qualifiers at the end of August.

Predicted line-up of Germany:
Bonga, Hollatz, Hundt, Krämer, Mushidi, Ogbe, Schilling, Schröder, Sengfelder, Voigtmann, Wank, Wohlfahrt – Coach: Herbert

Poland – Statistics & current form

Great footprints have not been left by the Polish basketball players in the history of the sport. In 2019, the Polish team was at a World Cup for the first time since 1967. However, three years ago in China, they made it directly to the quarter-finals. So the Poles are not to be underestimated and will certainly demand a lot from the German team on Sunday.

Last act of the chase

Igor Milicic’s team got off to a classic false start in the European Championship qualifiers, losing all of their first three games against Germany, Estonia and Israel. Therefore, it would be a sensation if the Polish Eagles could still make it to the final group phase. Before the last group match between Germany and Poland, we are not making any predictions about the Polish team making it to the World Cup.

The Poles were also in action on Thursday, hosting the team from Israel. A win by more than eight points was needed to win the direct comparison against the Israelis after the 61:69 defeat in the first leg. The score was 78-78 after four quarters, but the Poles pulled away in the overtime and won 90-85.

The best man in the Polish team was Mateusz Ponitka from Zenit St. Petersburg, who had the best values in points (23), rebounds (9) and assists (6) in his team. Michal Michalak, who knows the Bundesliga very well from Oldenburg but has just moved to Paris, will not be in the squad. Instead, Jakub Garbacz, who briefly played for Mitteldeutscher BC, will be part of the team.

Poland’s expected line-up:
Balcerowski, Garbacz, Gielo, L. Kolenda, M. Kolenda, Olejniczak, Ponitka, Schenk, Slaughter, Sokolowski, Witlinski, Zyskowski – Coach: Milicic

Germany – Poland Direct comparison / H2H-balance

Although Germany and Poland are geographical neighbours, the basketball teams do not cross paths very often. In the last 25 years, there have been just nine encounters. In the direct comparison, the German selection has a narrow lead with 4:5 victories in this period. Rarely has it been really clear when these two teams play each other.

The first leg of the current World Cup qualifier also held a lot of suspense. In November last year, Germany narrowly won 72-59 at the Globus Arena in Lublin. The most successful scorer for the DBB giants was David Krämer of the Basketball Löwen from Braunschweig, who alone was responsible for 24 points. Jakub Schenk was the most successful scorer for the Poles with 17 points.

Germany – Poland Tip

The German basketball players will do everything they can to gain momentum for the European Championship in September in their own country with victories. It’s mainly about the whole team, but every single player is also fighting for his personal European Championship ticket. Therefore, we expect Germany to be extremely hot for the match against Poland on Sunday.

After the opening defeat against Estonia, the German team has won four matches in a row. But the Poles have also regained their self-confidence with two recent victories. The pressure will be on the Polish team, however, as Igor Milicic’s team must win to continue dreaming of World Cup participation.

We can imagine, if Dennis Schröder knows how to improve, that there will be a clear home victory in Bremen. The right nose is always extremely important in a handicap. You shouldn’t set your sights too high. We have therefore decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-7.5) for the German team between Germany and Poland