Second German Test: After Spain Lesson, Full Focus on Japan

Germany’s basketball players tried to leave their sobering World Cup opener against Spain behind in the corridors of Berlin’s Uber Arena. The team lost 53-83 to the European runners-up, producing a performance that captain Leonie Fiebich said offered little to celebrate.

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You want to be disappointed, but you can’t.

“You want to be disappointed, but you can’t,” Fiebich said. Her instructions for the hours before Saturday’s second group match against Japan were simple: recover, eat, sleep and focus fully on the next opponent.

Japan will provide a demanding test. The Asian team opened the tournament with a 102-97 victory over Mali and made 20 three-pointers, a World Cup record. Germany struggled on both offense and defense against Spain and will need a clear improvement in the 6 p.m. game at Berlin’s Max-Schmeling-Halle.

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Recover, eat, sleep and then focus fully on Japan.

Coach Olaf Lange described the opening defeat as “growing pains.” Germany has introduced a new playing system and has not been together for long, he said, meaning the team needs time to develop. The tournament schedule offers little of it: Germany faces Mali on Monday, and the knockout round begins on Tuesday. “The World Cup is not over,” Frieda Bühner said. “That has to be put aside after midnight, and then we have to play Japan with full energy.”

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These are growing pains.

Nyara Sabally’s availability remains uncertain. Lange said she might not play against Japan and could return against Mali, but he was confident she would appear more regularly later in the tournament. She had missed about three weeks before the World Cup because of calf problems and only regained fitness shortly before the competition. Her sister Satou Sabally is absent because of the effects of a concussion.

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The World Cup is not over. That has to be put aside after midnight, and then we have to play Japan with full energy.