In the double duel between two worlds, Europe beat North America twice. Serbia beat Canada (95-86) in the first semifinal of the FIBA World Cup, then gave undefeated Germany the biggest shock by defeating the United States in a stunning 111-113 match. On Sunday, Germany and Serbia will play for the gold medal (2:40 p.m., Spanish peninsular time), and the United States and Canada will meet for the bronze (10:30 a.m.).
From strength to strength, the United States and Germany signed an exciting encounter, full of rhythm, speed, and success. Schröder's stick and Franz Wagner's wrist gave the German team the first lead (15-25) with a great performance from the trio. The United States responded with a matchup featuring athletes of NBA heritage, and the game became a street feud, an exhilarating spectacle for the viewer but a headache for coaches due to defensive compromises. The first quarter ended with a score of 31-33 for Germany, and the first half ended with a score of 60-59, and the scoreboards were full of points.
Germany continued the race at full strength, a whirlwind that required the best version of the United States. But the team led by Steve Kerr was weak, conceding 35 points in the third quarter, barely supported by the flashes of its stars against a very strong competitor. Defense, that luck that decides tournaments, made the difference: 84-94 for Germany before the final break. The difference extended to 12 points at the beginning of the decisive quarter. The empire was at stake and when she tried to grit her teeth, the boys in red had already surpassed 100 points (92-102). Schröder then took command of operations to repel his team as they conceded 9-0. The German point guard was dueling with Anthony Edwards and the game went down to the wire in its final moments: 107-108 at 1 minute, 35 seconds. A hat-trick from Obst, a block from Bonga and another basket from Schröder symbolized Germany's solidarity victory and left the United States without the redemption of becoming world champions again.
Canada made way in the penultimate step against Serbia after two matches of maximum tension against Spain, which came back with 12 points in the final quarter to pass the second stage, and against Slovenia in the quarter-finals with a stifling defense against Luka. Doncic. The Dallas Mavericks star (on October 10, he will play against Real Madrid at WiZink as part of the NBA pre-season) ended up disoriented and ejected after two technical fouls in the final period, and with the finger pointed at the referees for supposed harshness. From its defenders. Perhaps influenced by this controversy, the referees indicated that 17 fouls were committed against Canada alone in the first half of the semi-final against Serbia (25 at the end of the match compared to 22 for the Serbian national team).
The team coached by veteran Svetislav Pesic (74 years old) highlighted the wonderful performance of Bogdan Bogdanovic (23 points, 8 of 12 shooting, four rebounds, three assists and three steals), the Atlanta Hawks goalkeeper, to crown a very coral performance. And stand in the final. Without their superstar Nikola Jokic, who was rested after winning an NBA title with the Denver Nuggets, and also without Mesic, Kalinic and other stellar players, Serbia has proven to be a steely group. In the first semifinal in Manila, they led from the start (23-15 after the first quarter and 52-39 at halftime) and fought off Canada's comeback attempt, this time with 15 points and nine assists from their leader Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. “With all due respect to Serbia, the defeat is our fault. With 86 points, you can win many games in FIBA, but you have to defend and today we did not defend anyone,” lamented Jordi Fernandez.
After 43 years on the bench, Besic seeks to win the World Cup for the second time after the World Cup he won with Yugoslavia in 2002 in Indianapolis in the final match against Argentina, under the leadership of Dejan Bodiroga. On the opposite bench, Jordi Fernandez, 40 years old and the first assistant coach of the Sacramento Kings, is seeking the bronze after only three months in his position. In any case, it is already Canada's best World Cup result in its entire history. By the way, you have already got a direct ticket to the games, just like the USA, Germany and Serbia. It is also not a minor prize given the complexity of the pre-Olympic tournament that will be played by 24 teams from July 2 to 7, including Spain, which is allocated only four places in Paris 2024.
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