The Dominican national basketball team defeated Germany 70-68 in the FIBA World Cup in Shenzhen Bay Sports Center in Shenzhen, China. The quarters were 21-16, 18-21, 13-18, 16-15.
Coach Henrik Rodhl for Germany called it a huge battle that was open until the end.
Dominican Player Victor Liz attributed the win to God’s support, work, last-minute scouting and confidence given to the players by their coaches. He described the game as aggressive and physical game. “We had good shooters and patience to close and get the win,” he said.
Coach Nestor García said he was “happy with my players.” He said the win now places the Dominican team in the top 16 teams of the FIBA World Cup. He said that for many the DR is a tournament surprise, but that he has always believed in his men. He said the making the top 16 teams was the objective of the team.
Answering a question as to what he told the team when they were down by nine points, he said: “Believe in yourselves. I knew we had a chance to win. After the first half, we knew if we got the rhythm, we had a chance of winning the game.”
To get the victory against a big team, he told the players: “If you see, you will believe.” Now he says he tells his players: “If you believe, you will see.”
The Dominican Republic is playing in Group G. Next it will play France, that is 3rd in the world. In its first game in the FIBA World Cup, the DR defeated Jordan.
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FIBA
3 September 2019