Germany stuns US; meets Serbia in all-Europe FIBA World Cup 2023 Finals

September 9, 2023

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Germany, 11th in the FIBA world rankings, stunned the U.S. and the rest of the basketball world Friday night as it wrested the last slot in the finals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, arranging an all-Europe championship with sixth-ranked Serbia.

If their head-to-head meetings in FIBA tournaments and their performance in this World Cup would be the gauge in predicting the outcome of Sunday’s finals, then Germany would be favored to hoist the Naismith Trophy, the prize given to the men’s champion and named in honor of basketball’s inventor, James Naismith.

Germany will enter Sunday’s game at the Mall of Asia Arena with an unblemished record in this tournament, and holds a 3-2 record over Serbia in their matches in the 2019 World Cup European Qualifiers and once in the 2010 World Cup.

Serbia holds a 6-1 record in this 19th World Cup—the first to be hosted by three countries: Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines—dropping a close match against Italy. In its last three games, however, Serbia rolled over the Dominican Republic bannered by Karl Anthony Towns, the Luka Doncic-led Slovenia, and highly-touted Canada even without the the team’s National Basketball Association superstar Nikola Jokic. The Joker, as Jokic is called, decided to skip the FIBA World Cup to rest in preparation for the Denver Nuggets’ title defense in the coming NBA season.

The Manila championship will also be Serbia’s second finals appearance while it will be Germany’s debut.

Game statistics in this tournament give a slight edge to Serbia, with its 97.7-point average on a 56 percent field goal shooting is better than Germany’s 94.4 points average on a 51.4 percent shooting. Serbia also has an edge over Germany in assists per game at 25-23.9, and in steals per game at 9.1-8.6.

Free throw and three points shooting percentages are statistically even.

Germany secures more rebounds per game at 36.3 but gives up more fouls at 18.1 per game. Serbia rebounds the ball an average 34.9 per game and gives up 16.7 fouls a game.

Both teams’ top scorers are NBA players. Germany’s top point guard Dennis Schroder has played to several NBA franchise and is currently with the Toronto Raptors, while Serbian shooter Bogdan Bogdanovic recently sign a fresh four-year contract with the Atlanta Hawks.

The loss to Germany was a shock to the U.S., which built up a strong team after a dismal showing in the 2019 FIBA World Cup. The US won the Naismith Trophy in 2010 and 2014.