Germany take spoils from final group game as GB advance to Quarter-final Qualifier
A closely-fought encounter with the Germans was decided by the finest of margins 62-61 as Chema Buceta’s Great Britain fell just short of victory in their final group stage game of Women’s EuroBasket.
GB will still advance to the qualifying round for the quarter-finals on Tuesday, and will face the second-placed side in Group D – which is still to be determined following this afternoon’s outings in Slovenia.
After a fast start to today’s game – arguably Great Britain’s best of the competition so far – GB outscored their opponents 38-29 in the first half.
Coach Buceta’s side were varied in their attack through the half, with scoring on the interior led by Temi Fagbenle, Kristine Anigwe and Ire Ozzy-Momodu, as Sydney Wallace and Kiki Herbert-Harrigan were key protagonists from the perimeter. Fagbenle finished with a game-high 18 points, followed by Anigwe who contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds on the day.
After the interval, the Germans used an 18-0 run to come back into the contest and take control, with vital three-pointers from Temi Fagbenle and Kristine Anigwe keeping GB close going into the fourth.
With the lead changing multiple times in the final period, both sides had a chance to seal the win in the dying seconds of the game. GB did well to secure multiple stops in the last two minutes that gave them a chance at the game-winning bucket, but the Germans held on and secured the win and second place in the group.
You can hear comments from Head Coach Chema Buceta and guard Georgia Gayle in the post-game press conference by clicking below.
Further information on GB’s opponents and tip-off time in Tuesday’s will be confirmed in due course, but you can watch the action live on https://gbbasketball.tv.