The friendly in Cologne will complete the preparations for Scariolo's players.
MADRID, 22 (EUROPA PRESS)
The Spanish men's basketball team will visit Germany this Saturday (7:00 p.m.) to play their sixth and final warm-up match for the Eurobasket, in a chance for Sergio Scariolo's team to get revenge after their recent defeat to the Germans at the Movistar Arena in Madrid.
"La Familia" will conclude their "Imperium Nostrum" tour at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, a venue especially known to handball fans. The 12 players definitively selected by Scariolo will be on the court for Spain's attempt, starting on August 28, to retain its gold medal from the 2022 European Championship.
However, the Italian coach hasn't had to think too hard about his roster for the upcoming Eurobasket. Numerous injuries have done that work for him, ultimately ruling out Alberto Díaz, whose point guard position will be filled by a well-recovered Mario Saint-Supéry.
'The Little Prince,' recently signed by Gonzaga University to pursue his promising future in the NCAA, had been on cotton wool since he sprained his right ankle on August 16 during a friendly at the Accor Arena in Paris. Now his return is likely in 'La Familia's' second straight match against the reigning world champions.
Germany retains the core of men who won the 2023 World Cup and finished fourth at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and with Dennis Schröder as its lynchpin, it's among the favorites for the continental podium. The current Sacramento Kings point guard, with a long history in the NBA, secured the German victory last Thursday at the Movistar Arena.
A swift drive to the basket, with a shot in the air and a backboard shot, with Willy Hernangómez on top of him, was Schröder's basket that in the final moments of overtime made it 105-106, the final score when Darío Brizuela missed a reverse shot on the buzzer that could have given the home team victory.
Despite it being a friendly, both teams showed they're taking no prisoners just days before the real heat of the Eurobasket begins. And rehearsing a close finish to the game suited Scariolo well, despite Brizuela's error, who in the press conference afterward absolved himself of responsibility in case there's another buzzer-beater in the immediate future.
TECHNICAL SHEET.
–TEAMS.
GERMANY: Schröder, Obst, Wagner, Theis and Voigtmann –possible initial quintet–; T. Da Silva, Thiemann, Lô, O. Da Silva, Hollatz, Kratzer, Bonga, Krämer and Weidemann.
SPAIN: De Larrea, Brizuela, López-Arostegui, J. Hernangómez and W. Hernangómez –possible starting quintet–; Saint-Supéry, Yusta, Puerto, Parra, Pradilla, Aldama and Sima.
–PAVILION: Lanxess Arena.
–TIME: 19.00/La 2.
