From the niche to the 8 p.m. daily news: The German basketball players achieve amazing victories at the European Championships in Slovenia. Something unusual happened at the press conference.
Germany’s women’s basketball team celebrated their entry into the quarter-finals of the European Championship like a title. To the specially tuned sounds of “Who Let the Dogs Out” by Baha Men, Leonie Fiebich and Co. stormed into the press conference room and danced happily around the podium with the beaming national coach Lisa Thomaidis.
“I’m so happy and proud of the team. They worked so hard for success,” said Thomaidis, who only took over the post at the end of April and has since brought about remarkable victories – and thus the first European Championship quarter-finals since 1997.
From the niche to prime time: German women’s basketball has made an amazing development in just a few weeks and has thus taken the first steps towards the home World Cup in 2026 in Berlin. After preliminary round victories over Slovenia and Great Britain, the 79:69 victory against Slovakia made it into the 8 p.m. news on Tuesday evening – as the only sports news of the day.
“Exciting Group”
“We have an enthusiastic and exciting group here. They love to play together. We’ve made a bit of history now but we continue to see every opportunity that comes our way,” said 50-year-old Canadian Thomaidis.
The next prime-time appearance is on Thursday, when the quarter-finals against top favorite Spain are scheduled for the evening (8.45 p.m./Magentasport) – again in Ljubljana. For the women basketball players it is the biggest and most important tournament game since 1997. A surprising victory would bring Fiebich and her teammates sensationally close to a medal – and already guarantee a place for the Olympic qualifying tournament for Paris 2024. “We will be ready for Spain. My team is still young and can improve in so many areas. It’s all up to us,” said Thomaidis.
Actually, a short tournament was expected for the women’s basketball team when they returned to the European Championship after twelve years. The last three victories in a row not only fueled the current euphoria, but also the dream of a podium finish, as he achieved in Hungary in 1997. “I’m just super proud that we’ve made it this far. Our goal was the second round and now we’re in the quarter-finals. A dream has come true,” said key player Marie Gülich. With 26 points and nine rebounds, she particularly stood out against Slovakia.
Strong performances
The performances of the team are convincing. At the start against Vice European Champion France (50:58), Germany held up surprisingly well. After that, the defense became more and more stable and the own ball losses less. “We’re getting better with every game. Every game brought its own challenge. It was good for us to win the first two games so closely,” said Gülich.
The 29-year-old, together with Fiebich, is a beacon of hope for a small basketball miracle that should succeed against Spain and then at the weekend. Gülich has been active in Valencia since 2020 and is therefore well informed about Spanish women’s basketball. “Of course I know what’s coming. We’re the underdogs,” she said. They were like that before the tournament started.
Source: Stern
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