#minds #sports #basketball #fiba #music "Without national team, basketball wouldn't have current standing in Germany," says captain Benzing.
WURZBURG (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Robin Benzing spent the second window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers with his second family, the German national team, and confirmed their status as a great team and program by beating Serbia.
The German captain had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 2 steals as his team knocked off the mighty Serbs 79-74 at home in Frankfurt last Friday.
"You don't win too many times against Serbia. So it's a great thing for Germany to beat them," Benzing said. "They were missing a lot of players but also we were missing a lot of players. But still they are a great team with great players so it's an amazing result for us. Plus, it was a huge win for the standings in this group and for the next round."
Germany did not rest on their laurels as they followed that up with an 87-77 win at Georgia on Sunday to stand top of Group G with a 4-0 mark and guarantee their place in the Second Round of the European Qualifiers.
"It's very important for us that we start with four wins. You are going to take every win into the next round, so it's a big thing to start like that," said Benzing, who is averaging 16.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists through the first two windows. "For Germany it's also a great sign because our young team shows that we have great players and are a great team."
For Benzing, these Qualifiers are not really like work though. It's more like family and honor.
"The national team is family for me, and that's why I will always play for it, as long as I possibly can. It's an honor for me," said Benzing, who has played for Germany’s senior team since the FIBA EuroBasket 2009. "I just love to play for my country and represent my country. For me, it's one of the most important things to play for your country because without the national team, basketball would not have the standing it has right now. We need the national team for German basketball.
"Without the national team, basketball wouldn't be like it is now in Germany. It's the picture of basketball in Germany and the same for other countries. Without national teams, basketball will lose so much in every country.
In these windows, the emphasis is very much on the team. according to Benzing. Achieving success in these Qualifiers is not as easy at doing so at a tournament for which the team can prepare during several weeks.
"With these windows you can see if you are a real team or not because you only have a short time to come together and prepare for two games. If you don't have a strong bond and great chemistry in the team, then it's difficult to survive in these Qualifiers," said the 6ft 9in (2.08m) forward. "During the summers when you have the whole time to prepare, you can always fix everything because you have time. But in one week you cannot fix problems, you just have to work together as one group."
Benzing knows things will be different for the German team this summer when they face Austria on June 29 in Braunschweig and head to Serbia for a showdown on July 2. That's because many of the country's top stars will be coming back to the national team.
"It's sad for some people now because they will not be with the team. But everyone on the team right now knew this before and still played with everything they had. That's why I'm just proud of my team and what we've done so far," Benzing said. "We will continue with what we started and be a great team with success."
And Benzing said the German team regularly heard from the Dennis Schroders and Daniel Theises in the build-up, during and after the windows.
"We knew that all these players wanted to play for Germany in these windows but they couldn't. They all followed the games and supported us from afar," he said. "They were with the team always."
Just like a good family always is.
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