2023-09-08 20:40:11
Disaster for the United States at the Basketball World Cup. Very dominant since the start of the competition, despite a narrow defeat against Lithuania during the second group stage, the Americans completely collapsed in the semi-final against Germany (113-111). The players of Steve Kerr, the Golden State coach, however, seemed to be in control of events at halftime, returning to the locker room with a small point lead.
But the third quarter was fatal for this Team USA. Thanks in particular to a great Franz Wagner, author of 22 points over the entire match, the Germans took a ten-point lead before entering the last ten minutes.
This last quarter was mainly a mental struggle. While the Americans tried everything to come back, Dennis Schröder and Daniel Theis managed to keep their team afloat, forcing their opponents to attempt improbable shots.
Germany’s defeat, Serbia in the final
Coming back to a small point less than two minutes from the end of the match, Anthony Edwards, Austin Reaves, Jalen Brunson&co believed in it, but they never managed to regain the advantage. Despite yet another desperate attempt in the final seconds, it was Germany who secured their ticket to the final.
On Sunday, the Germans will have a new major opponent facing them. They will face Serbia, who defeated Canada earlier in the day, to try to win a first world title in their history. The duel between the two North American nations, which many imagined would end in the final, will finally take place in the small final. A small consolation for two teams who were favorites at the start of the tournament.
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