The NBA trio of Dennis Schroder, Daniel Theis, and Franz Wagner pushed Germany past resilient Belgium 87-83 (29-19, 17-31, 20-19, 21-14) to gift the team its first win in the preparatory cycle for the 2023 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers and EuroBasket 2022.
Although Germany was perceived to be the favorite of the match, it was Belgium who led at halftime at 50:46. The teams battled it out in the second half as well, trading blows possession after possession.
The teams were separated by just a single point with 2 minutes left to play when Franz Wagner hit a corner three-pointer to give Germany a four-point lead with 1:50 to go. Later on, a Dennis Schroder-Daniel Theis alley-oop gifted the away team two more points, and the winner of the match started to become clear.
However, Retin Obasohan scored a two-and-one on the very next possession to bring Belgium back within three but that was all Belgium was able to offer.
Schroder drained one of two free throws to push the difference to four, and the home squad did not manage to push back anymore.
Franz Wagner led the Germans with 23 points and 5 rebounds on 7-for-13 shooting. Dennis Schroder added 21 points and 7 assists while shooting 15 free throws during the match and making 11.
Earlier today, it was announced that Moritz Wagner would miss both international tournaments this year due to an ankle injury.
Germany's next friendly matchup is against the Netherlands on August 12th while Belgium will battle Estonia on that same day.
