In a stunning upset on Friday, Germany defeated the United States 113-111 in the semifinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup from Manilla, Philippines. The German team was led by a player with zero National Basketball Association experience. Andreas Obst of Halle, a German city known for its grass court tennis, who plays for Bayern Munich of the German Basketball Bundesliga, scored a team-high 24 points.
Five other German players reached double digits in scoring. Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic had 22 points. Daniel Theis of the Indiana Pacers had 21 points. Dennis Schroeder of the Toronto Raptors had 17 points. Moritz Wagner of the Magic and Johannes Thiemann of Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga, had 10 points each.
It was the third quarter that was the difference in this basketball game. Here, Germany outscored the United States 35-24. The fact that the Germans are in the championship game is significant. This will be the first time in the history of the FIBA Basketball World Cup that Germany has been in the gold medal game.
This is the second time in the tournament that the United States suffered a loss. They were beaten 110-104 by Lithuania in second round action on September 3.
In the championship final on Sunday, Germany will play Serbia. In the first of two semifinals, Serbia defeated Canada 95-86. The leading Serbian point scorer was Atlanta Hawks shooting guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who had 23 points. This will be the second time in the history of the tournament that Serbia has been in the gold medal game. In 2014, they lost 129-92 to the United States in Madrid, Spain.
For FREE!
