MANILA – Germany emerged on top of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup via an 83-77 victory over Serbia in the one-game finale last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Dennis Schroder led the way with 28 points, including two three-pointers, to go with two rebounds, two assists and a steal as the Germans ended the competition with a perfect 7-0 record.
Franz Wagner added 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, while Johannes Voigtmann contributed 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Germany.
From a 47-all score at the half, the Germans went on a massive third quarter breakaway behind inside attacks by Schroder while also tightening their defense against the Serbians for a 71-59 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Aleksa Avramovic singlehandedly carried Serbia back in the game to within 77-79 but Schroder scored on a layup followed by two free throws to seal the championship.
Avramovic finished with 21 points, with 16 coming in the fourth quarter, while Bogdan Bogdanovic and Filip Petrusev ended with 17 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Serbians.
Meanwhile, Canada relied on Dillon Brooks’ torrid outside shooting as they scored a 127-118 overtime victory over the United States to clinch the bronze medal, their highest-ever finish in the World Cup.
The Canadians led by as much as 10 points in the regulation period, but Team USA clawed its way back in the fourth quarter to force overtime via a three-pointer by Mikal Bridges.
Brooks and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander took turns in the offensive end early in the extension period to give Canada a 120-114 edge before RJ Barrett drilled a triple for the Canadians for a 124-115 lead with under a minute remaining.
Brooks finished the game with 39 points, including seven three-point conversions, while Gilgeous-Alexander fell short of a triple-double with 31 markers, 12 assists, and six boards./PN
BOX SCORE:
GERMANY 83 – Schroder 28, F. Wagner 19, Voigtmann 12, M. Wagner 8, Bonga 7, Obst 7, Theis 2, Thiemann 0, Lo 0, Giffey 0.
SERBIA 77 – Avramovic 21, Bogdanovic 17, Petrusev 10, N. Jovic 9, Marinkovic 9, Guduric 4, S. Jovic 3, Davidovac 2, Milutinov 2, Dobric 0.
Quarterscores: 23-26, 47-47, 69-57, 83-77.
