FIBA World Cup: US Reaches Semi-finals, Then Lose to Germany

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The 2023 FIBA World Cup semi-finals had been set. In the first of Wednesday’s quarter-finals games, Germany beat Latvia in a very close game winning by just a single basket. Germany was led by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, who put up 16 points, eight rebounds, and three assists in 24 minutes. Franz’ brother Mo would put up 12 points and two rebounds while Pacers forward Daniel Theis would put up nine points and eight rebounds and Toronto Raptors guard Dennis Schroder would put up nine points and four assists.

In Wednesday’s second quarter-final game, Canada would beat Slovenia 100-89. Canada was led by OKC Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had a dominant 31-point, 10-rebound, four-assist, two-steal performance. Knicks star RJ Barrett would add another 24 points and nine rebounds, while Timberwolves guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Rockets forward Dillon Brooks put up 14 points each, even though Brooks would be ejected in the fourth quarter. For Slovenia, Luka Doncic put up 26 points, four rebounds, and five assists, before he was also ejected.

In Tuesday’s first quarter-final game, Serbia blew past Lithuania, beating them 87-68. Serbia was led by Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who would finish with 21 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic would put up eight points, two rebounds, and two assists in his 21 minutes on the court. For Lithuania, Pelicans big man Jonas Valanciunas put up 11 points and four rebounds in 18 minutes, but no one for the Lithuanian team was able to put more 15 or more points. Serbia will play Canada on Friday to determine who goes to the championship game while Lithuania will play Slovenia on Thursday.

In Tuesday’s second quarter-final game, the United States would have a bounce-back game after losing to Lithuania, dominating Italy in a 100-63 game. The US would be led by Nets guard Mikal Bridges, who finished with 24 points and seven rebounds. Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton would chip in another 18 points, four rebounds, and five assists. Italy would be led by Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio, who finished with 18 points and five rebounds. The United States will play Germany on Friday to determine who will play Serbia or Canada in the championship game while Italy will play Latvia on Thursday. For the United States, their win over Italy secured a top-four finish, surpassing their 7th place finish in 2019.

They faced their toughest opponent, undefeated Germany and the result was not what the rest of the world expected. They would fall 113-111 and for the Americans, it is the second straight time they will fail to play for the Gold.

This game saw a German team that was just too big and too strong for the US. It was the same type of game they played when they lost to Lithuania last week. The German’s size showed as they were able to get 12 offensive rebounds that resulted in 25 second-chance points. They would shoot 58% from the floor and get a whopping 50 points in the paint.

Anthony Edwards would lead the US with 23 points and Mikal Bridges added 17. Jalen Brunson, who had 15 points and seven assists said, “We obviously didn’t come to play from the start.”

The 5-6 and 7-8 games will take place on Saturday while the 3rd place and Championship games will take place on Sunday, September 10th.