Germany secured their first-ever Basketball World Cup title by defeating Serbia 83-77 in a thrilling final in Manila. Germany, who remained unbeaten throughout the tournament, made history with this victory.
The game saw a spirited performance from both teams, but it was in the third quarter that Germany managed to pull ahead.
Despite a fierce fourth-quarter comeback attempt by Serbia, Germany held their ground and claimed the Naismith Trophy.
Dennis Schroder emerged as Germany’s top scorer with 28 points, followed closely by Franz Wagner with 19 points. In the early moments of the game, Serbia suffered a setback when small forward Ognjen Dobric was injured and had to be carried off the court. Although he later appeared on an exercise bike on the sidelines, he did not return to the game.
Serbia, who had high hopes of winning their first title as an independent nation, received strong support from their travelling fans but struggled to keep pace with Germany in the second half. Aleksa Avramovic led Serbia’s scoring with 21 points, followed by Bogdan Bogdanovic with 17 points.
The first half of the game was closely contested, with the score tied at 47-47. However, Germany dominated the third quarter, outscoring Serbia 22-10.
Serbia made a valiant comeback effort in the fourth quarter, reducing the deficit to just three points with less than a minute left. Nevertheless, a crucial lay-up by Schroder helped Germany maintain their lead, and Serbia’s hopes were dashed when a three-point attempt by Avramovic missed the mark.
Serbia faced additional challenges as they played without power forward Borisa Simanic, who had surgery to remove a kidney after an earlier tournament injury.
They were also missing superstar Nikola Jokic, who chose to skip the tournament to rest after leading the Denver Nuggets to an NBA title the previous season.
Source: AFP
