The bronze medal game of EuroBasket 2022 opens play on Sunday as hosts Germany and Cinderella side Poland face off to decide third place
All games from now on are at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin, Germany
When?
Sunday 18 September 17.15 CEST, 16.15 BST, 11.15 EST, 08.15 PST
How they got here
Germany (6-2) had wins over Montenegro and Greece in the knockout stages but came up short in the semi final against Spain as they fell victim to the brilliant adjustments by the perennial powers of the sport.
Poland (5-3), having overcome Ukraine in the last 16 and shocked Slovenia in the quarter finals ran into the sheer dominance of France in the semi finals as they suffered one of the heaviest knockout round defeats in competition history.
Need to know
Dennis Schroeder had his best ever performance in EuroBasket in the loss to Spain and it still wasn’t enough. He will be desperate to ensure the home side comes away with a medal and he has a deep roster around him to help.
Poland reached the semi finals for the first time since 1971 at this tournament and they managed to do so with wins over teams with either greater quality or greater depth but never with both. That’s the big Q for the Poles ahead of Sunday’s early game.
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Miscellaneous extras
News of Dennis Schroeder’s deal to the LA Lakers broke just hours after his side after exited the competition while Mateusz Ponitka of Poland started to be linked with moves to either Baskonia or Virtus Bologna in the hours before his side lost to France. In the case of Ponitka, a Bologna move would prove convenient if nothing else as he wouldn’t need to change apartment.
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What do the bookies say?
Germany are enormous favourites in this one at 3/20 straight up and -11.5 on the point spread. Poland are priced at 13/2.
What do we say?
The bronze medal game in any tournament bar the Olympics is always a bit of an odd one as motivation is usually the decisive factor but, in this case, it’s reasonable to think both sides will be hyper motivated for the W. That being said Germany have the quality and depth advantages here.
The pick
Germany to win and cover.
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