Germany recorded a thrilling 83-77 win over Serbia in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 final on Sunday, September 10. Toronto Raptors's Dennis Schroder registered the highest 28 points while Franz Wagner added 19 points to give Germany a sensational comeback win in the 19th edition of the tournament.
Serbia, playing in the final for the second time in the last three editions, started well with a narrow lead in the first quarter despite losing Ognjen Dobric to an injury and also ended the first half with the same points as Germany. But Germany, riding on their unbeaten record in the tournament, made a stunning comeback in the third quarter to take a lead. Wagner was excellent in the third quarter as Germany took a 12-point lead but Serbia were impressive to fight out in the last quarter to take the game to the wire.
But Dennis Schroder shone late in the game with winning shots and also claimed the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 MVP award. Both Germany and Serbia have secured qualification for the Paris Olympics 2024 after reaching the semi-final round in this tournament and remain Europe's top-ranked teams at the moment.
Germany won all of their eight games in the 32-team tournament in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. Their best performance came against the five-time champions the United States of America in the semi-final clash where they recorded an unbelievable 113-111 win to reach the finals for the first time in their basketball history.
Gordon Herbert, Germany's head coach, credited a win to teamwork and said it was an unbelievable winning streak for his team.
"It's a little bit of a surreal moment," Herbert told reporters after the game. "It's like I told the players. It's a tremendous group of players, but we were a team first. Guys cared about each other, and they challenged each other. It's an unbelievable group. It's unbelievable going 8-0."
