Dennis Schroder was 4-of-26 from the field but was proud of his teammates who stepped up to boost Germany to the FIBA World Cup 2023 semifinals.
Dennis Schroder experienced a forgettable night in the quarterfinals of the FIBA World Cup 2023, but his 4-of-26 shooting performance didn't prevent Germany from securing an 81-79 victory over Latvia, propelling them into the semifinals.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
22
|
| Franz Wagner | |
| Points | 16 |
| Accuracy | 5-8 |
| Rebounds | 8 |
| Assists | 3 |
"I probably had the worst game of my career. But we still found the way to win the game," Schroder admitted after the win.
"I'm proud of my guys who stepped up from the bench. The starters. Franz Wagner, especially. Mo Wagner... Everybody stepped up," he added.
Schroder contributed with 9 points but struggled to find his mark, hitting just 4 of 18 shots from within the 2-point range and missing all 8 of his attempts from beyond the arc.
In addition, he dished out four assists but also turned the ball over four times, resulting in a team-worst plus/minus rating of -20 and an efficiency rating of -10.
When asked how he coped with the challenge of a poor shooting night, Schroder revealed that he focused on maintaining a positive mentality to support his teammates.
"I just tried to stay positive. At the end of the day, if you make or miss shots, you can't control that. But what you can control is to be positive. Still, talk to your teammates as a leader and captain. I can't fall into a bad mood. I'm just happy for everybody else stepping up, and happily, we won the game."
The head coach of Germany, Gordon Herbert, expressed his confidence that his main floor general would undoubtedly bounce back in the upcoming semifinal showdown against the USA.
"I have no doubts he will bounce back. Adversity builds strength. Obviously, he had a really tough day. He missed layups and wide-open shots. But he is a super tough kid, very competitive. I have no doubt he'll bounce back," the coach said.
On the opposing side of the court, Schroder faced a tough opponent in Latvian point guard Arturs Zagars, who had an astonishing performance, recording 24 points and eight assists.
Notably, Zagars had previously played for Lowen Braunschweig during the 2021-22 season, a German team owned by Schroder.
"I own a team in Germany (Braunschweig), and he played there one and a half years ago. He was a little bit hurt and couldn't play that much. But since then, he made a huge jump. Shout out to him, he played well tonight. He did his thing," Schroder smiled.
