?Victor Liz (C) of Dominican Republic passes the ball during the group G match between Germany and Dominican Republic at the FIBA World Cup 2019 in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Xu Chang)
SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Germany failed to recover from a disappointing opening loss against France at the 2019 FIBA World Cup, losing 70-68 to the Dominican Republic in their second group match here on Tuesday.
Dennis Schroder finished with 20 points and seven assists. Daniel Theis added 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds, but it wasn't enough for the Germans to avoid defeat. The Dominican Republic's Victor Liz and Eloy Vargas hit a combined 33 points to see their side qualify for the last 16 after two wins in as many games.
The Dominican Republic took an early 10-2 lead, before Germany fought back to lead 21-16 at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter turned out to be a real nail-biter, as the Dominican Republic's Gelvis Solano gave five assists to lead his side to fight back, but the Germans maintained a 39-37 lead before the second half thanks to Schroder's six consecutive points.
Germany then lost their attacking rhythm, scoring only 13 points during the third quarter, while Solano contributed several steals and assists to help his team rattle off eight straight points before the quarter's end, with the Dominican Republic 55-52 ahead.
The final quarter belonged to Dominican Republic's frontcourt players, as Vargas and Eulis Baez laid on 11 points to seal a hard-fought win.
