BELEM (Brazil) – The German women’s national team made history on Sunday, defeating Brazil, 73-71, to qualify to the Olympic Games for the first time in the country’s history.

The Europeans surpassed all expectations to finish with a 2-1 record at the 2024 FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belém, earning one of the tournament’s 3 tickets to Paris.

The victory stunned the Brazilian crowd at Arena Guilherme Paraense in a wild ending where all sorts of mathematical permutations where in play, not only for the teams involved, but also for Serbia.

In the end, Brazil was eliminated while Serbia finished in 3rd place and also qualified to Paris 2024.

Turning point: With under 2 minutes remaining and Brazil up 67-63 (but needing to win by 8 points to qualify), Satou Sabally drove hard to the rim and drew Kamilla Cardoso’s 5th foul, eliminating her from the game. Frustrated at the call and by the attitude of Sabally who took a technical foul on her taunt, the Brazilian center pushed Sabally and was called for a disqualifying foul.

That series of events spurred Germany’s comeback that included another tough bucket from the older Sabally sister and free throws from Svenja Brunckhorst and Leonie Fiebich, enough to extinguish Brazil’s hopes.

TCL Player of the Game: Clearly in pain after suffering a separated shoulder on Thursday, Satou Sabally completed a memorable performance with 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, a pair of steals and a block in 39:04 of playing time.

The 25-year-old forward shot 6-13 from the field and went to the free throw line a staggering 20 times, a sign of how unstoppable she resulted to the opposing defense.

Leonie Fiebich was Germany’s leading scorer with 22, most of them coming from the line (9-11) and beyond the arc (3-11). She also chipped in 11 rebounds, a steal and a block. Nyara Sabally added 10 points and 5 rebounds.

For Brazil, Kamilla Cardoso uncorked another huge performance (19 points, 13 rebounds and 3 steals), while Damiris Dantas led the way with 20 points on 7/18 from the field. Tainá Paixao also had 19 points for the home team.

Stats don’t lie: Germany shot 41 free throws as their physicality and relentlessness caused Brazil to commit 32 fouls. They only had a 23-20 edge in made free throws, just enough to alter the balance of the game, despite Brazil shooting an excellent 79.2 percent and the Europeans finishing at 56.1.

Both teams struggled offensively, shooting under 40 percent from the field and under 30 percent from long distance. The teams also combined for 38 turnovers (16 for Germany, 22 for Brazil), but neither of them could get an edge on points generated off those.

Bottom line: This is a historic feat for Lisa Thomaidis’ squad, as it also represents the first time they qualify on the merits to an intercontinental event. Germany previously took part in the 1998 FIBA Women’s World Cup, where they were the host nation. They’re also scheduled to host the 2026 World Cup.

The loss represented a harsh end of the road for Brazil’s Olympic dreams. The team came into the event with high hopes not only because of playing in front of their home fans, but also on the heels of winning the 2023 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup.

They said: “The toughness and grit they showed, I’ve never seen something like that. Satou playing, I don’t know if she can lift her shoulder, and she was shooting with her off hand. To earn the ticket, I’m just so happy. We just made history. This team’s never been to the Olympics. They’re a wild bunch and I’m super proud of them. I think it was 8 months ago that we were ranked 36^th in the world. We’re now 25^th and I’m sure this will boost us again. Like I said yesterday, Australia is where we want to be and to be going to the Olympics is a massive step for this team.” – Germany head coach Lisa Thomaidis.

“To be honest, I’m speechless. What this team did today and this whole tournament. We had so many injuries and problems. We went through all this, played in front of this crowd. Staying together. This whole time I’m super proud. Of course, for German basketball this is historic. It’s something we never did before.” – Germany guard Svenja Brunckhorst. 

“It’s a tough moment. The team was prepared to play in this tournament. It was a tough group with Serbia, Australia and Germany. It’s the best moment for German basketball, not only for women’s, but also after the World Cup for the men’s. It’s a great job they’re doing right now. But I said the first day that if there was someone responsible if we couldn’t win the place in the Olympics, I am responsible for that. The team, our staff, the Brazilian confederation, the Olympic committee…everybody worked a lot to give us this moment and the possibility of winning an Olympic spot in this tournament. I’m responsible for that. Of course, we’re very sad to not play in the Olympic Games. Now I need to think a little bit and make a decision for the next step.” –  Brazil head coach José Neto.

 “I’m very sad, because like everybody knows, my wish was for my retirement to be in Paris. Unfortunately, we had this misstep. I’m very happy and very thankful of the performance of the girls. We worked a lot to get here. We knew of the difficulty of these teams, and it just couldn’t happen.” – Brazil center Erika de Souza.

FIBA