Germany finish with a win
September 9, 2013
Germany held on despite a late rally from Israel in the game's dying moments. The winners skipped out to a 10-point lead early in the last, but Israel clawed back to within a basket inside the last minute only to be eventually denied.
The tournament began with so much promise for Germany after a shock 80-74 victory over highly rated France in their first Group A encounter. But Frank Menz's team subsequently slumped to three-straight losses to scupper their hopes of reaching the second round.
Germany can take some solace in the positive note on which they finished the tournament.
A sloppy first quarter after which they trailed 20-12 was soon eclipsed by a dominant second that ultimately set up the win.
There were contributors throughout the entire German squad; guards Per Günther and Lucca Staiger - the latter off the bench - led Germany's scorers with 15 points apiece and were supported by Tibor Pleiss' 14.
Pleiss was Germany's dominant player, collecting 14 rebounds and drawing seven fouls.
Israel small forward Omri Casspi was the game's other standout, scoring 22 points and claiming 13 boards of his own.
The result meant Belgium, France and Ukraine progressed through to the knockout stages. Latvia, Spain, Finland, Greece, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia and Greece are the other nations to reach the second round.