Germany won the Basketball World Cup for the first time by defeating Serbia (83-77) in a strong final today, Sunday. Germany leveraged a third-quarter advantage (22-10) thanks to brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner and did not squander their lead, winning the first all-European final of the tournament since 2006. Dennis Schröder, the tournament's MVP, was Germany’s top scorer with 28 points, significantly above his average of 17.9 points per game, while also grabbing two rebounds and providing two assists. Schröder said in a press conference, "It’s an unbelievable group. The coach did a great job bringing us together. Our defense and our way of playing as a basketball team is special."
Germany, which won all eight of its matches, became the first team to win the title in its first final since Spain did so in 2006. Serbian hearts were broken again after losing the 2014 final to the USA, but this result is certainly better than exiting in the quarter-finals in 2019. The match was balanced, as both teams were tied (47-47) at the end of the first half, but Germany surged ahead by 12 points at the end of the third quarter, moving towards securing the title. Marco Gudurić made two free throws to narrow the gap to two points near the end of the fourth quarter, but Serbia could not complete the comeback. Serbian player Ognjen Dobrić had to leave before the end of the first quarter due to an ankle injury. Serbia also missed Borisa Simanić, who underwent kidney removal surgery in Manila after being injured against South Sudan. Earlier today, Canada secured a spot on the podium at the World Cup for the first time after defeating the USA (127-118) in overtime in the third-place match.
