MANILA, Philippines — There will probably be no gold medal for the U.S. at this World Cup. And for the 2d consecutive time in FIBA’s greatest event, there will not be any medal at all for the Americans.
Instead, it’s Germany on the cusp of an international identify.
Andreas Obst scored 24 issues, Franz Wagner added 22 and Germany scored extra issues than any staff ever has towards a USA Basketball staff that includes NBA gamers — incomes a 113-111 win in the World Cup semifinals on Friday night time.
“This team is very worthy of winning a championship,” U.S. trainer Steve Kerr stated. “And we just didn’t get it done.”
No, it did not, and now questions will fly as soon as once more. USA Basketball has been speaking for years about how the continuity of most sensible world groups has closed what was once as soon as a large hole between the Americans and the remainder of the global. The U.S. has received the final 4 Olympic titles, however now it is two immediately World Cups without a gold for the winningest program on the planet.
“Terrible,” U.S. guard and captain Jalen Brunson stated. “Plain and simple.”
Germany — the final unbeaten staff left in the event at 7-0 — will play Serbia on Sunday (8:40 a.m. EDT) for the World Cup identify. Serbia beat Canada in the first semifinal, getting to its 2d World Cup ultimate in the final 3 tournaments; it misplaced 129-92 to the U.S. in the 2014 championship recreation.
Canada will play the U.S. for bronze Sunday (4:40 a.m. EDT).
Obst hit the shot of the night time, a 3-pointer with 1:15 left to put Germany up through 4 and with regards to snuff out a last-ditch U.S. rally. Germany led for 30 of the recreation’s 40 mins, the U.S. led for about 4 1/2, and there was once little query who was once controlling play a lot of the approach.
“It’s a special group,” Germany trainer Gordie Herbert stated after his staff made the World Cup ultimate for the first time. “The way we played, the way we played together, we stuck together when things got tough and we had players who made some huge plays. One more to go.”
The U.S., down through 10 halfway thru the fourth, just about pulled off a comeback, getting inside one level on two separate events in the ultimate mins. But the Americans by no means were given the lead, and it was once the Germans leaping and hugging as time expired.
“We knew the task at hand, and that was to go win,” U.S. guard Austin Reaves stated. “And we didn’t do that.”
Anthony Edwards scored 23 issues for the U.S. (5-2), which were given 21 from Reaves, 17 from Mikal Bridges and 15 from Brunson. The Americans shot 58% — however let Germany shoot 58% as neatly, and that was once the final undoing.
“If you give up 113 points in a 40-minute game, you’re not going to win many of those,” Reaves stated.
The earlier top for issues allowed through a U.S. males’s staff in the Olympics or World Cup in the generation when NBA gamers may well be used — going again to 1992 — was once 110. And that was once previous on this event, towards Lithuania, which additionally was once a U.S. loss. That loss did not doom the Americans’ gold-medal hopes. This one did.
“We weren’t ever able to make them feel us defensively,” Kerr stated.
Germany were 0-6 getting into Friday towards the Americans in World Cup or Olympic pageant, generally getting blown out in the ones video games.
Not this time. Once once more, even bringing the handiest roster full of all NBA gamers wasn’t sufficient for the U.S. at the World Cup. The Americans completed 7th at the 2019 World Cup in China; this end — 3rd or fourth — will technically be higher, however not anything rather then gold was once going to be sufficient for USA Basketball.
Daniel Theis had 21 issues for Germany. Theis has scored 21 or extra issues six instances in his NBA occupation — and picked Friday for one in every of the video games of his existence.
“Obviously, a historic win for Germany,” Franz Wagner stated. “We’ve got one more to go.”
A 35-24 3rd quarter was once principally the distinction for Germany, which this time completed the task that it could not pull off when assembly the Americans in Abu Dhabi for an exhibition previous this summer time. Germany led that recreation through 16 in the 2d part, then an 18-0 run through the Americans down the stretch led to a 99-91 U.S. win.
It wanted identical heroics this time. They nearly were given there. Key phrase: nearly. This time, Germany completed it off. And when it was once over, Reaves could not assist however see Schroder — his former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers — experience an enormous second for German basketball.
“Tip your hat to him,” Reaves stated. “I know how special this moment is for him.”
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