NBA journeyman Dennis Schröder portrayed perfection as he guided Germany to a surprising victory over Australia, propelling them to the second round of the FIBA World Cup 2023 in Okinawa, Japan.
He accumulated 30 points along with eight assists and four steals for Die Mannschaft, consistently dismantling Australia’s switching defense with remarkable speed and basketball IQ.
His output was much-needed as Franz Wagner is nursing a right ankle injury.
(C) FIBA.basketball
“With his speed, he’s just able to break it down and find ways to get into the lane. Create for himself with a layup or force the defense to rotate and kick the ball out,” teammate Maodo Lo commented on Schröder’s performance.
“It’s extremely impressive to see his speed, his quality and what he can do as a player.”
Lo stood as the sole German player to achieve double-digit scoring, igniting the team from the bench with a contribution of 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting in 25 minutes of play.
Schröder and Lo orchestrated the German team during the closely contested match, managing to outscore Australia in the final quarter and secure the victory.
“Offensively and defensively we had two outstanding individual performances from Dennis (Schroder) and Maodo (Lo). But at the end of the day, I thought it was a really good team effort,” said Germany coach Gordon Herbert.
“We started the game really well and we ended it really well. I think the beginning of the fourth quarter was a key point for us. We had lost a little bit of momentum and the first three-four minutes of the fourth quarter were really good for us.”
