“It was a lot of fun, there was a special atmosphere,” said Franz Wagner on ProSieben: “The second and third quarters were very good.” Only at the start and at the end of the game, according to the NBA professional, did the team struggle. “We can take a lot of positives from this,” he added: “And we see what can still be improved.”
In the second defeat of the fifth preparation game, Franz Wagner was the top scorer for the Germans with 18 points, who can go into the Olympic opener on Saturday (1:30 PM) in Lille against Japan with confidence despite the result.
In a group with the Asians, Brazil (July 30), and host France (August 2), advancing is expected. The ultimate test against the superstars revealed that the gold heroes from Manila do not have to fear any opponents even in the brutally tight race for Olympic medals. “Every game will be extremely difficult. I’m looking forward to it,” said Wagner.
“King” James, who was named the flag bearer for his country at the opening ceremony on Friday just hours earlier, shone especially in the final quarter – the 39-year-old scored 20 points, the best performance of the evening. At the same time, the Americans avenged their loss in last year’s World Cup semifinals, when the later world champion humiliated their B-team. For this reason, the record Olympic champion is approaching the games in Paris and Lille with the cream of the crop around James.
Before the anticipated revenge, the NBA World Selection initially appeared quite vulnerable. On Saturday, the Americans narrowly won 101:100 against the basketball underdog South Sudan after being down by 14 points. These games, James said afterwards, he preferred “more than blowout victories, at least we are tested. I like being tested.” And that’s exactly what the Germans did.