MANILA, Philippines – Germany has survived its star’s worst game of the FIBA World Cup.
The Germans escaped an upset-conscious Latvian squad, 81-79, Wednesday at the Mall of Asia to arrange a semifinal date with the USA, despite Dennis Schroeder’s abysmal offensive night.
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Germany’s de facto leader, who averages 18 points per game in the tournament, managed to tally a measly nine points against Latvia — his lowest in six games — and he needed an eye-popping 26 shots to get them.
Schroder, who is with the Toronto Raptors in the NBA, missed lay-ups and other wide-open shots Wednesday night, attempts he would normally make as one of the best talents in the tournament.
Nevertheless, the cerebral guard still enjoys the full confidence of his coach.
German mentor Gordon Herbert told reporters he believes his star guard will make up for the atrocious night.
“I have no doubt he'll bounce back. Adversity builds strength,” Herbert said at the post-game presser.
“Obviously he had a really tough day. [But] he's a super tough kid, very competitive,” he added.
Fortunately for Germany, its bench rose to the occasion and carried the scoring cudgels, led by the brothers Moritz and Franz Wagner, who scattered 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Germany’s bench did most of the heavy lifting that it ended up accounting for 44 points — or more than half of the team’s total.
“I think one of the strengths of this group, is that we're a team,” Herbert continued. "We're able to play 12 guys if necessary.”
Schroder, for his part, hasn’t gone hard on himself either.
“I’m doing everything what the team needs to win the game, and I’m gonna do the same routine, what I did tonight and the last couple of games,” said Schroder, who had four assists and the same number of turnovers.
“And it’s gonna be a fun one on Friday (against USA).”