Nowitzki gets go-signal to play for Germany

Dirk Nowitzki was given the go signal by the Dallas Mavericks to play for Germany in the EuroBasket 2007. This was reported by www.fiba.com and added that the NBA superstar will start training under coach Dirk Bauermann on August 14. Part of the training is the seven warm-up games in Spain. The Eurobasket is the counterpart of FIBA Asia men's championship in Europe and will likewise be used as the Beijing Olympic qualifying event. The report quoted DBB (German Basketball Federation) sport director Wolfgang Brenscheidt as saying that his association "was delighted at the amount of time Nowitzki would have with his national side." "We're extremely pleased about that (releasing Nowitzki) and (we) thank the Dallas Mavericks for their co-operation," said Brenscheidt. The report added that Nowitzki is not concerned that he will be joining his teammates late for their preparation in the EuroBasket. "I'll be playing seven preparation games with the team. That's enough for us to get used to one another. I know the players. I've played with some of them for more than 10 years," Nowitzki said. The top two finishers in the tournament will join Spain, being the world champion, to the Beijing Olympics next year. The next four team will compete for the three remaining European slots to the upcoming Olympiad. - GMANews.TV