Dirk Nowitzki and his team reached to the Quarterfinals

By Emeli Dean

Germany’s Basketball team met his bogey opponent Italy in the third and last preliminary round of the European Championship in Spain. In 16 games against Italy on Olympic Games, World and European Championships, the German team had to record 16 losses.

After the bleak loss against France (66-78) and Slovenia (47-66) Germany’s players had to fear for their entry in the Quarterfinals.

But after today’s 67-58 victory, the team coached by Dirk Bauermann can look forward to their next game tomorrow evening against the host and World Champion Spain. Germany qualified as the fourth team in their group after Lithuania, Slovenia and France for the Quarterfinals.

The Italian team leaded until the half-time and in the 21st minute, with a throw of Femerling the German team took over the lead to 29-27, which couldn’t be taken off.

Best players of the German team were Johannes Herber and Dirk Nowitzki with 15 points each and Steffen Hamann with 10 points. Herber was able to score his three-point goal at crucial moments.

Beside of winning the European Championship, most of the teams’ highest goal is the qualification for Olympia 2008 in Peking. Spain as the titular World Champion is automatically qualified for Olympia.

About the Author
Emeli Dean is a high-ranking writer on sports for the
football betting industry. You can also find more of his work at http: www.instantactionsports.com
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