Eurobasket

EuroBasket 2022 Semifinals: France vs. Poland, Spain vs. Germany

EuroBasket 2022 wraps up Sunday with Germany defeating Poland for a 3rd-place finish.

Brian Martin, for NBA.com

Catch up on all the action from the Quarter-Finals in 2022 EuroBasket play!

Third Place Results

Germany 82, Poland 69

Germany (6-3) held off Poland (5-4) Sunday to earn a third-place finish placing third with a bronze medal in the 2022 EuroBasket. Newly signed Lakers guard Dennis Schroder led Germany putting up 26 points and six assists. Coming out strong in the second half, Germany dominated the defensive boards, courtesy of Pacers’ Daniel Theis with nine points and six rebounds; and German center Johannes Voigtmann with 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Orlando Magic guard Franz Wagner added eight points, four rebounds and four assists.

 Semifinals Schedule

Date Game Matchup Time (ET)
Sept. 16 Semifinal 1 France 95, Poland 54 11:15 a.m.
Sept. 16 Semifinal 2 Spain 96, Germany 91 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 Third Place Game Germany 82,  Poland 69 11:15 a.m.
Sept. 18 Championship Game Spain 88, France 76 2:30 p.m.

Semifinal 1: France vs. Poland

This matchup brings to mind two tropes of the NCAA Tournament: France has epitomized the idea of survive-and-advance as they have needed overtime in each of their knockout stage games to make it to the semifinals. Meanwhile, Poland is the ultimate Cinderella story of this tournament. They may be the only team remaining that does not tout an NBA star, but they just eliminated one of the game’s biggest stars in Luka Doncic as they knocked off the defending champion Slovenia in the quarterfinals.

How They Got Here:

France

• Group Stage: Finished 3rd in Group C with a 3-2 record

• Round of 16: Defeated Turkey 87-86 in overtime as Rudy Gobert’s 20 points and 17 rebounds fueled France’s comeback

• Quarterfinals: Defeated Italy 93-85 in overtime behind Gobert’s 19 points and 14 rebounds, as well as Evan Fournier’s 17 points

• NBA Players: Evan Fournier (New York); Rudy Gobert (Minnesota); Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (free agent); Theo Maledon (Oklahoma City); Frank Ntilikina (Dallas)

Poland

• Group Stage: Finished 3rd in Group D with a 3-2 record

• Round of 16: Defeated Ukraine 94-86 behind 24 points from A.J. Slaughter and 22 points from Mateusz Ponitka

• Quarterfinals: Defeated Slovenia 90-87 behind Ponitka’s triple-double (26 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists) and holding Doncic to 14 points

• NBA Players: None

Semifinal 2: Spain vs. Germany

Spain and Germany enter the semifinals as the top two teams remaining in the tournament statistically. They both have matching 7-1 records, each suffering a loss in the group stage (Spain to Belgium, Germany to Slovenia). Among the eight teams that made the quarterfinals and have played seven games, Spain (+11.5) and Germany (+9.9) rank first and second, respectively, in point differential. The host Germany boasts the top-scoring offense in the entire tournament at 93.6 points per game, led by NBA free agent guard Dennis Schroder at 20.2 ppg. Spain ranks fifth in scoring at 90.4 ppg, but counters with a defense that has held opponents to just 78.9 ppg. Will that be enough to slow down the Germans in front of their home crowd?

How They Got Here:

Spain

• Group Stage: Won Group A with a 4-1 record

• Round of 16: Defeated Lithuania 102-94 behind 21 points from Willy Hernangomez and 13 from his brother Juancho

• Quarterfinals: Defeated Finland 100-90 as the Hernangomez brothers delivered again – 27 points from Willy and 15 from Juancho – to eliminate Lauri Markkanen, the tournament’s second-leading scorer, and the Finns.

• NBA Players: Juancho Hernangomez (Toronto); Willy Hernangomez (New Orleans)

Germany

• Group Stage: Finished 2nd in Group B with a 4-1 record

• Round of 16: Defeated Montenegro 85-79 behind 22 points from Dennis Schroder and 14 from Franz Wagner

• Quarterfinals: Defeated Greece 107-96 behind Schroder’s 26 points and Daniel Theis’ double-double (13 points, 16 rebounds) as the hosts delivered the first loss of the tournament to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Greeks.

• NBA Players: Dennis Schroder (Lakers); Daniel Theis (Indiana); Franz Wagner (Orlando)

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