MANILA, Philippines – For the first time in history, Germany earned the right to be called FIBA World Cup champions after a thrilling 83-77 escape of Serbia in the sold-out knockout final at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, September 10.

NBA player and eventual tournament MVP Dennis Schroder cemented his legacy as one of Germany’s great players after a fearless 28-point outing on 9-of-17 shooting, including the last four points that sealed the deal in his team’s favor.

Franz Wagner backstopped the title-winning effort with 19 points, while Johannes Voigtmann added 12 points and 8 rebounds.

Serbia role player Aleksa Avramovic paced the heartbreaking loss with 21 points, while captain Bogdan Bogdanovic managed just 17 points on a limited 6-of-10 clip due to hounding German defense from buzzer to buzzer.

Fourth quarter

FIBA | FINAL:

DEUTSCHLAND DOMINATES THE FIBA WORLD CUP!

Germany rolls to the #FIBAWorldCup2023 gold medal UNDEFEATED at 8-0 after an 83-77 escape of Serbia in a thrilling knockout final!#FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/k0fEVlyMR3

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

• GERMANY 81-77: Dennis Schroder with a fearless finish inside. Timeout Serbia with 21.4 seconds left
• GERMANY 79-77: Marko Guduric clutch two charities
• GERMANY 79-75: Dennis Schroder 1/2 from the line with 48.7 seconds left
• GERMANY 78-75: Aleksa Avramovic fishes a foul from downtown, sinks all three free throws. Timeout Germany with 1:21 left as Avramovic hypes the Serbia crowd
• GERMANY 78-72: Aleksa Avramovic clutch three
• GERMANY 78-69: Franz Wagner 2/2 from the line
• GERMANY 76-69: Aleksa Avramovic and Johannes Voigtmann trade threes
• GERMANY 73-66: Andreas Obst long two, Bogdan Bogdanovic answers inside

FIBA | UPDATE:

Gate attendance: 12,022 (sold out)#FIBAWC #FIBAWorldCup2023

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

• GERMANY 71-64: Filip Petrusev hook shot. Timeout Germany with 7:22 left
• GERMANY 71-62: Aleksa Avramovic three after a trap on Bogdan Bogdanovic
• GERMANY 71-59: Moritz Wagner contested layup
• GERMANY 69-59: Aleksa Avramovic goes coast to coast for the dunk

Third quarter

FIBA | END OF Q3:

Germany 10 minutes away from winning their first-ever FIBA World Cup as they lead Serbia, 69-57, at the start of the closing chapter.#FIBAWC #FIBAWorldCup2023

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

• END OF 3Q: Serbia goes ice-cold as Germany pulls away with a 22-10 third quarter, 69-57.
• GERMANY 69-57: Moritz Wagner putback hook
• GERMANY 67-57: Filip Petrusev putback reverse layup
• GERMANY 67-55: Germany extends its run to 16-5 off a Franz Wagner three
• GERMANY 64-55: Marko Guduric 2/2 from the line to stop the bleeding
• GERMANY 64-53: Moritz Wagner easy layup off the Johannes Voigtmann bullet pass inside. Timeout Serbia with 2:18 left. Germany 13-2 run.
• GERMANY 62-53: Nikola Milutinov tech, Dennis Schroder FT. Isaac Bonga 2/2 charities
• GERMANY 59-53: Dennis Schroder finds his spot from mid-range, sinks the jumper
• GERMANY 57-53: Dennis Schroder gets a crucial call, sinks 2/3 from the line
• GERMANY 55-53: Nikola Milutinov gets his first points with 5:07 left from the line
• GERMANY 55-51: Johannes Voigtmann banking floater
• GERMANY 53-51: Dennis Schroder layup
• 51-all: Nikola Jovic coast-to-coast drive and layup
• GERMANY 51-49: Johannes Voigtmann two charities
• 49-all: Bogdan Bogdanovic putback
• GERMANY 49-47: Dennis Schroder contested layup

FIBA | STATS:

Bogdan Bogdanovic (15pts) and Franz Wagner (14) go mano-a-mano in an exciting first half.#FIBAWC #FIBAWorldCup2023 pic.twitter.com/c0U8oFN0d4

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: Germany and Serbia remain locked in a tight gold medal match, 47-all
• 47-all: Bogdan Bogdanovic scores two charities
• GERMANY 47-45: Dennis Schroder steal and slam
• 45-all: Aleksa Avramovic split trip from the line
• GERMANY 45-44: Dennis Schroder layup off the Daniel Theis pass
• SERBIA 44-43: Aleksa Avramovic crafty finish
• GERMANY 43-42: Dennis Schroder go-ahead three. Timeout Serbia with 2:26 left.
• SERBIA 42-40: Franz Wagner 2/2 from the line

FIBA | Q2:

Bogi shakes and bakes for the stepback three! SRB 42-38 GER 4:01#FIBAWC #FIBAWorldCup2023

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

• SERBIA 42-38: Bogdan Bogdanovic contested three. Timeout Germany with 4:01 left.
• SERBIA 39-38: Filip Petrusev floater
• GERMANY 38-37: Franz Wagner alley-oop finish
• SERBIA 37-36: Bogdan Bogdanovic high-arcing layup
• GERMANY 36-35: Dennis Schroder step-back three
• SERBIA 35-33: Filip Petrusev dunk
• 33-all: Isaac Bonga corner three
• SERBIA 33-30: Dejan Davidovac steal and score
• SERBIA 31-30: Bogdan Bogdanovic three
• GERMANY 30-28: Franz Wagner scores three free throws off a Vanja Marinkovic foul from deep
• SERBIA 28-27: Isaac Bonga layup
• SERBIA 28-25: Franz Wagner layup
• SERBIA 28-23: Filip Petrusev 2/2 from the line

First quarter

FIBA | END OF Q1: Serbia races to a 26-23 lead over Germany.#FIBAWC #FIBAWorldCup2023 LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/MuMNHiaFau pic.twitter.com/9FxgRr9KR8

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) September 10, 2023

• END OF 1Q: Serbia leads Germany in a back-and-forth affair, 26-23.
• SERBIA 26-23: Moritz Wagner short stab
• SERBIA 26-21: Vanja Marinkovic long two
• SERBIA 24-21: Aleksa Avramovic layup
• SERBIA 22-21: Dennis Schroder 2/2 from the line
• SERBIA 22-19: Nikola Jovic banking three at the end of the shot clock
• 19-all: Andreas Obst corner three
• SERBIA 19-16: Vanja Marinkovic step-back three
• 16-all: Johannes Voigtmann dunk off the Daniel Theis feed
• SERBIA 16-14: Bogdan Bogdanovic three
• GERMANY 14-13: Vanja Marinkovic and Daniel Theis trade twos
• GERMANY 12-10: Andreas Obst mid-range shot
• SERBIA 11-10: Nikola Jovic layup
• GERMANY 10-9: Franz Wagner 2/2 from the line
• SERBIA 9-8: Franz Wagner split trip from the line
• SERBIA 9-7: Bogdan Bogdanovic layup
• 7-all: Johannes Voigtmann tying three
• SERBIA 7-4: Vanja Marinkovic 2/2 substitute free throws
• SERBIA 5-4: Ognjen Dobric out of the game after a right ankle injury at the 7:40 mark.
• SERBIA 5-4: Dennis Schroder layup
• SERBIA 5-2: Franz Wagner putback layup
• SERBIA 5-0: Nikola Jovic fastbreak dunk
• SERBIA 3-0: Stefan Jovic three
• SERBIA STARTING FIVE: N. Jovic, Dobric, S. Jovic, Milutinov, Bogdanovic
• GERMANY STARTING FIVE: Voigtmann, F. Wagner, Theis, Schroder, Obst

Preview

For the first time in nearly two decades, two European squads duke it out for the FIBA World Cup crown.

Serbia and Germany cross paths over a decade since their only other World Cup encounter as they dispute the coveted Naismith Trophy in the finale at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, September 10.

The first time they faced each other, the Germans escaped the Serbians in a thrilling 82-81 double overtime win in the preliminary round of the 2010 World Cup.

As they meet again, though, it will be for all the marbles.

The Germany-Serbia clash marks just the fifth all-European finale in World Cup history and the first since Spain crushed Greece in the 2006 championship game.

Both teams eliminated foes loaded with NBA talent in the semifinals to move on the cusp of their first-ever World Cup title, with Germany pulling off a massive upset over favored USA and Serbia bouncing out Canada.

A win on Sunday will secure Germany a landmark World Cup championship and its first medal since it won bronze in 2002.

“Germany demonstrated they are one of the best teams in the world,” said Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic. “They have a great coach and all their players made incredible improvement.”

No stranger to the last dance, Serbia looks to get the job done this time after settling for silver in 2014 when it got drubbed by the United States.

Bogdan Bogdanovic, a member of that 2014 squad, leads the way for Serbia as he enters the final with averages of 19.4 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals.

Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder is expected to play a crucial role for Canada after norming 17.9 points, 6.7 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals.

Game time is 8:40 pm. – Rappler.com