Serbia vs Germany FIBA World Cup Final Recap
Germany win historic FIBA World Cup
Germany defeated Serbia in a closely-contested final to assign the FIBA World Cup. Herbert’s men, led by Toronto Raptors star Dennis Schroder, held off Serbia’s final comeback attempt to secure first ever medal.
The Serbians started as energetic as usual behind 5 points by Miami Heat player Nikola Jovic. Schroder and Wagner answered and never really let go of a game that was just as close as expected. Bogdan Bogdanovic kept the Germans at bay but the contest was as close as three-points at the end of the first quarter, with The Eagles leading 23-26.
Germany first took the lead in the 2nd quarter when Franz Wagner converted all three free throws off of a Marinkovic foul, and the teams stayed basically even ever since, to finish the 1st half 47-47 after Bogdanovic’s two free throws.
Die Mannschaft pulled away in the third behind Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner’s performances, and with incredible defense from Isaac Bonga, resulting in only 10 points conceded to Serbia in the 3rd. Germany’s lead even reaches double figures after Moritz’s layup with 2 minutes to go.
Serbia look to get back into the game in the 4th, but the Germans are able to keep Bogdanovic quiet, and Aleksa Avramovic, Serbia’s real unsung hero in this FIBA World Cup, is the one to take his team on his back, on both ends of the floor. His team-leading 21 points bring Serbia back in the game, and when Voigtmann fouls his three-point attempt, the Partizan point guard converts all three free throws to make it a three-point game (78-75). Schroder misses 1 of the two free throws, and Guduric brings the Serbians back to a two-point deficit from the charity stripe. Schroder scores the layup to make it a two-possession game, and Serbia is unable to answer as Abramovic misses the three-point attempt and Guduric turns the ball over.
Schroder’s Germany wins their first-ever FIBA World Cup, 21 years after their first medal in USA 2002, when Dirk Nowitzki was awarded tournament MVP despite only winning bronze. That year, Pesic-s FY Yugoslavia, made of a team with mostly Serbian players, triumphed over Argentina.
FIBA World Cup Final MVP - Dennis Schroder
The technical leader of this Germany team, and the MVP for the World Cup final, was Dennis Schroder. The Raptors playmaker closed the game in style with his finish at the rim with 21.4 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, adding the final two of his 28 points. Schroder led Germany to an unbeaten run at the 2023 FIBA World Cup, and closed the game with 9/17 from the field. He completed his box score with 2 assists and two rebounds, in addition to his lockdown defense on Bogdan Bogdanovic.
