On August 12-13, the national teams of Canada, China, New Zealand, and Germany will compete in the 34th Basketball SuperCup in Hamburg.
The four qualified nations will conduct final preparations just two weeks before the FIBA Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia.
Canada, which is likely to feature NBA player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on their star-studded roster, will play New Zealand in one SuperCup Semi-Final, while Germany, headed by Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner, will play China in the other.
The winners will face off in the Final the following day, which will also feature a Third-Place Game.
“We are in the second year in a three-year cycle, and the Supercup is a very strong test along route to the FIBA World Cup,” said Germany’s head coach, Gordie Herbert.
“Canada, coached by Nick Nurse, one of the finest NBA head coaches, is a highly talented squad with NBA players Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, as well as extremely excellent European players Jamal Murray and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. After the United States, Canada has the most NBA players and is one of the medal contenders for the World Cup “said Herbert.
He stressed New Zealand, stating that it is inappropriate to underestimate them.
“New Zealand is one of the basketball world’s dark horses. New Zealand is sometimes overlooked when ranking the greatest teams, yet they play excellent basketball “The speaker continued. “My good friend Sasa Djordjevic, one of the greatest European players of all time, coaches China. At the Supercup, there are a total of three visitor teams with quite diverse basketball styles. This should be quite intriguing, and I eagerly anticipate it.”
Germany is on a run, having won the FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournament in Split to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics and finishing third in the FIBA EuroBasket 2022 in Berlin last year.
In 2008, Yao Ming scored 25 points to lead China to a 59-55 victory over Germany, who was led in scoring by Dirk Nowitzki’s 24 points. China and Germany have had a number of memorable encounters over the years, including an epic matchup at the Olympics in which Yao Ming scored 25 points to lead the hosts to victory.
Germany defeated China in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup in Indianapolis, thanks to Nowitzki’s 30 points and eight rebounds. Nowitzki was named the World Cup’s Most Valuable Player after guiding Germany to a podium finish.
Canada and New Zealand prevailed 78-72 in their most recent matchup in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualification Tournament in Manila.
In the Group Stages of the 2010 World Cup in Turkey, the Tall Blacks defeated their opponent 71-61. Douglas Cameron, the current coach of New Zealand and a member of the FIBA Hall of Fame, participated in this game during his third and last World Cup.