WURZBURG (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Germany and Ukraine split the two friendly games they played in Wurzburg, Germany over the weekend as both teams pulled back the curtains for the first time since the start of preparations for the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers which tip-off 31 August.

Ukraine prevailed 83-77 in the first clash on Saturday night in front of a 2,700-strong crowd which included legend Dirk Nowitzki, as Oleksandr Mishula erupted for 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting and Viacheslav Bobrov added 14 points and five boards. For Germany, Niels Giffey had 15 points while Daniel Theis collected a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds in losing efforts.

Kyrylo Fesenko was unable to suit up at the weekend because of illness but the Ukraine captain liked what he saw from the sidelines. "The guys were good, especially on defence," the big man said. "Of course it's only the first game but there was good effort on both ends of the floor and I will say that we showed hard-nosed defence and helped each other out with great willingness. I liked how Mishula took over the game at just the right moment," Fesenko concluded.

"We looked good at the start of the game, both defensively and offensively, but Ukraine improved significantly after the break," said Germany head coach Chris Fleming. "In view of what awaits us in the Qualifiers against the Netherlands and Austria, this has been a very good experience for us.

"I would much rather talk about Daniel (Theis), Danilo (Barthel), Maodo (Lo) or Makai (Mason) than about players who are not here. It will be important for us to perform together as a group, but that will come along the way. I would like us to earn the role of favourites in the Qualifiers," Fleming added.

On Sunday night the two teams met again, this time behind closed doors and Germany jumped in the lead early on, played excellent defence and secured a 62-54 win, behind 12 points from Danilo Barthel and a nine-point effort by Maodo Lo.

"It was important that we did many things better today [Sunday] than we did on Saturday," commented coach Fleming. "We played better on defence collectively and learned from the mistakes we did in the first game. Of course we still have a long way to go but it was also good that we could add Jo Voigtmann to the team while Makai Mason has been able to adjust to European basketball."

There were more good news for Germany on Monday morning, as NBA players Tibor Pleiss and Paul Zipser joined their team-mates at training camp and they will be at Fleming's disposal for the next two friendlies, against Finland on Saturday and Estonia on Monday.

FIBA