German players celebrate victory. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Beijing News (Reporter Xu Bangyin) On September 8, the semifinals of the 2023 Men's Basketball World Cup ended, Serbia eliminated Canada 95-86, Germany defeated the United States 113-111, and the two European teams of Germany and Serbia met in the final. In the final on the evening of September 10, whichever team wins will produce a new men's basketball World Cup champion.
In the history of the Men's Basketball World Cup (World Championship), European and American teams have far exceeded the competitiveness of other continents. In the past 18 World Cup finals, there have been 3 American derbys, 6 European derbies and 9 European-American matches. The last World Cup final was a European derby in 2006, when Spain defeated Greece. The match between Germany and Serbia will be the seventh European derby in the history of the World Cup final.
In this World Cup, the strong performance of European teams is obvious to all. There are 12 European teams in the round of 32, with the exception of Finland and France, where 10 teams are in the round of 16. After the rematch of the round of 16, Montenegro, Greece, Georgia and Spain were eliminated, and 6 European teams advanced to the last 8. Although only Germany and Serbia advanced to the semifinals, the two teams eliminated the United States and Canada respectively to achieve the final of the European team.
Serbia started yesterday, and against a strong Canadian backfield, the veteran boss Pešić's tactical thinking is very clear. The whole team is based on defense, Gudurić and Avramović keep a close eye on Alexander, while letting Milutinov and other interior linemen guard the basket. The Canadian defenders were unable to complete effective playmaking, and there were no players in the box to match Serbia's height and confrontation, and the game quickly lost suspense.
Bogdanovic (left) leads the team to the final. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
Serbia's top star Bogdanovic scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while Avramovic, Milutinov, Guduric and Dobrich also scored double-doubles. In the absence of Jokic, Serbia reached the World Cup final for the second time in its history with strong discipline, tough defense and efficient attack, following 2014.
If Serbia won mainly by defense, Germany eliminated the United States with its historic offense. The 113 points are not only the highest semifinals score in World Cup history, but also the highest single point conceded by the U.S. men's basketball team in the history of the World Cup.
The German team scored more than 20 points, Oberst scored a game-high 24 points, Wagner Jr. and Theis scored 22 and 21 points respectively, and Schroeder, who scored 17 points, could only rank fourth on the team. Germany's two-point shooting rate and three-point shooting rate are as high as 68.3% and 43.3% respectively. With the absolute advantages of rebounding, secondary offensive scoring, etc., coupled with the scores of Obest and Schroeder at key moments, the German men's basketball team reached the World Cup final for the first time in history.
Jaren Jackson Jr. (front right) has no advantage against Germany's inside. Photo: Xinhua News Agency
German coach Herbert said after the game: "It's a great win, but we're not where we want to go yet, this group wants to win gold. ”
At 8:40 p.m. on September 10, Serbia, which lost the 2014 World Cup final, and Germany, which stepped on the World Cup final stage for the first time, will usher in a new champion in the men's basketball World Cup no matter which team wins.
Edited by Zhang Yunfeng
Proofreader Liu Jun