Our men’s national team will be in action on February 20th in Norway to finish the 2027 World Cup pre-qualification.
It will be the last game of Thomas Grün (29) in the dress of the national team. After more than decade of playing for Luxembourg, Grün decided to end his career with this game on the road. „It was a long thought process that was also influenced by the feed-back of my doctor. I am at a point where I know that my basketball career will affect my life after my career so I must consider carefully how I can slow down and give my body breaks from time to time. In addition, my private life is moving in a different direction since I ended my professional career which is another big reason why I leave the national team. The national team and the basketball federation is getting more professional which is a great sign overall but I am at the end of my career so I kind of move in a different direction. »
Grün welcomes the fact that his final game involves a trip to a differrent country. „I try to enjoy the last window as much as I possibly can. In this effect it is nice that we have a small trip to a different country as a team because we are more together as a team on road trip. Apart from the basketball standpoint, the best part about playing in the national team were the people that were involved in the journey. Personally I will try to give 110% in my last game so that I can end on a high note. »
In order to stay in the race of advancing to the next round, Luxembourg needs a victory against Norway. Thomas Grün wants the team to have a better start into the game: „Over the last games, we often trailed by more than points early in the game and had to come from behind which requires a lot of energy. I hope that we will be able to punch first in Norway and create a lead to have a different game. Furthermore, Norway is a team on our level when it comes to the physical level so that we can not let them grab offensive rebounds to get second chances and more shot attempts. »
Standings in group B
1. Romania (3 games, 5 points)
2. Luxembourg (3 games, 4 points)
3. Norway (2 games, 3 points)
Upcoming game:
Thursday, February 20th at 19:00 –> Norway – Luxembourg
