With 12 assists and 13 points, Schroeder made his Olympic debut in Paris to lead the Germany men's basketball team to a 97-77 victory over Japan. The 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup winner got off to a good start at the Olympics. Wagner Jr. had 22 points and six rebounds, and Theis had 18 points and seven rebounds on all seven shots. Big Wagner had 15 points and five rebounds. As the core of Japan's men's basketball team, Hachimura scored 20 points and 10 rebounds, but shot 4-of-19 and was inefficient.
The Germany men's basketball team did not take lightly against the relatively weak Japan men's basketball team in this group, and the team became a well-trained and disciplined team under the tutelage of coach Herbert. The Germany men's basketball team scored more points in every quarter than the Japan men's basketball team, and took advantage of the depth of the squad in the second half, and finally won the Japan men's basketball team by 20 points.
For the Japan men's basketball team, losing only 20 points against the world champion is actually very good. Schroder was tired because he was the flag bearer of the opening ceremony, but he did not fully exert his strength in this game, shooting 6 of 12 in the whole game, only 1 turnover, and no foul. The Japan men's basketball team did not put too much pressure on Schroeder, or that Japan men's basketball guard Yuki Kawamura could not compete with Koguro. This battle taught a lesson to Yuki Kawamura, who planned to break into the United States. Kawamura had 11 points and seven assists on 3-of-11 shooting, but had five turnovers and four fouls, compared to five turnovers for the Germany men's basketball team. The Japan men's basketball team had 13 turnovers as a team.
Under Schroeder's leadership, the Germany men's basketball team scored 97 points in this battle, which is the second highest score in the history of the Germany men's basketball team in the Olympic Games. Germany's highest single-game score at the Olympics was 99 against Nigeria at Tokyo 2021. Daniel · Theis shot all 7 of 7, 2 of 2 three-pointers and 2 free throws to score 18 points on 100 percent shooting.
The last men's basketball player to score more than 18 points on 100 percent shooting at the Olympics was Wade. He scored 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting and 5 free throws against the Chinese men's basketball team in 2008.
"This is the biggest tournament in the world. There are a lot of good players in this tournament. But at the same time, we know what we can do, we just try to play game by game, keep the team spirit, enjoy the game, finish every game and try to win. Schroeder said after the game.
Centre forward Theis also stressed that the team was focused: "We spent weeks preparing and we knew it was going to be a tough game. The Japan team never gave up, and even if they were 15 points behind, they were able to chase about 8 points. So we knew we couldn't relax, we couldn't save any energy because they were going to play for 40 minutes. We did really well afterwards. But I think one of our biggest strengths is that we never underestimate our opponents. ”
Hachimura hit another double-double, the second time in his Olympic career, becoming only the second player in Japan's men's basketball history to double at the Olympics multiple times, and Norihiko Kitahara also scored two double-doubles for Japan men's basketball team at the Olympics. However, Hachimura became the first player in Japan's men's basketball history to score 20+10 data at the Olympics.
Hachimura teamed up with naturalized player Hawkinson, and the interior strength of the Japan men's basketball team was actually very good, with the team rebounding 35 balls and drawing with the Germany men's basketball team. But Germany's two major NBA interior offenses are more efficient. Theis scored 18 points, Wagner Jr. scored 22 and Wagner Jr. scored 15 points off the bench.
"It's a big challenge [against Germany] but I like it. They're really amazing. We probably know their style of play as well as the Germany men's basketball team, and once we see a sign, we catch it, but it's still hard to stop. They were very methodical and then they had a deep bench. Daniel · Theis came off and Mo · Wagner came on, and it was a different challenge. Franz [Wagner], the NBA team can't stop him, and it's hard for us to stop him. But I think we're doing a good job. We persevered, we didn't back down, we made them work for it. We're getting better and we're on the right path. Japan head coach Tom · Horvath looked helpless after the game.
The Japan men's basketball team is stuck in the group of death, and the other two teams are the France men's basketball team and the Brazil men's basketball team, which are not easy to mess with. The Japan men's basketball team has improved significantly over the years, and Hachimura said: "It's on the rise, and I felt it before I went to Gonzaga. I feel that basketball is becoming more and more important every day in Japan. I see more kids, I see everybody talking about basketball. I'm one of the people who led the whole basketball craze, but we'll talk about that as a team as well. We have to be the ones who show what basketball is all about. ”
But even if the Japan men's basketball team has improved, there is still a gap with the strong teams in Europe and the United States.