BERLIN (Germany) - Germany needed 17 years to finally reach the podium again as they captured third place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 with an 82-69 win over Poland. They hope this result is just the start of much more success.

"It means the world to me that we had the motivation to come out today after the (Semi-Finals) loss to Spain. We wanted to reach more but in the end nobody thought we would bring home the bronze medal. It's amazing. An amazing feeling for all of us,” German captain Dennis Schroder said.

"We realize that we have done something special, but it will be more meaningful when you get some distance from it," Schroder's backcourt mate Maodo Lo said. "We really rewarded ourselves for all the hard work over the summer and energy that we put into the national team."

 
Johannes Thiemann added: "If we can stay together and all play in the summer and build upon the success then we can achieve something great."

Daniel Theis was happy his team bounced back after losing in the Semi-Finals.

"We were all a little disappointed after the Spain game. We wanted to reach the Final and win gold. But our goal before the tournament was a medal. And we achieved that. … We hope it’s the start of more [in the future]."

Andi Obst had the same sentiment, adding: "We have some more goals in front of us. If we stay healthy this season and come back together it won't be just easy but we do have chances to do something more."

“OUR GOAL BEFORE THE TOURNAMENT WAS A MEDAL. AND WE ACHIEVED THAT ... WE HOPE IT'S THE START OF MORE.”

In addition to a medal, another goal for the Germans was to bring more attention to basketball in the country. And they accomplished that, according to Schroder.

"I think we made basketball a little sexier in Germany," the captain said. "I think the trend is going in the right direction. We have a super team, a lot of quality guys who play in big leagues. We won a lot of new fans who were in the arena and supported us. And I hope it gets bigger."

FIBA