And then there were two.
Germany will play Serbia for gold in an all-European final, sending yet another reminder that not all that glitters in basketball is in North America. The U.S. will play Canada for bronze.
In a tournament that has seen its share of upsets, it is still safe to say that the two best teams in the tournament will feature in the final as the Germans remain undefeated and Serbia only have one loss to their name – which came after the Serbians inexplicably threw away a 17-point third-quarter lead against Italy.
Both the Canadians and the Americans are guaranteed to improve on their finishes at the 2019 World Cup, having finished 21st and seventh, respectively.
Here’s everything you need to know from Friday’s action:
RESULTS
Serbia def. Canada 95-86
Germany def. U.S.A. 113-111
MAIN TALKING POINTS
Germany march to final with impressive win over USA
No one should be calling this an upset, Germany is real and spectacular.
Daniel Theis and Johannes Voigtmann did plenty of damage inside, combining for 31 points and 12 rebounds, but it was Andreas Obst from the outside who stole the show with 24 points and six assists including four triples.
Toronto Raptors point guard Dennis Schroeder was also instrumental in the victory with 17 points and nine assists while Franz Wagner had his share of big moments in finishing with 22 points.
This was a game with serious offensive firepower, the first quarter score of 33-31 (in favour of Germany) setting a World Cup record for the highest combined total in a semifinal. Germany did it with a typical workman yet surgical-like approach while the U.S. looked to overwhelm with its talent.
Anthony Edwards and Mikal Bridges each had 15 points at the half, but Germany did a tremendous job keeping the latter quiet in the second half and limiting him to just two points. Austin Reaves stepped up with 21 points, but it was the defence that let the Americans down.
The value of chemistry and continuity always shines through in these international events, and that was ultimately the difference as Obst, Isaac Bonga, and Schroder all combined to make defining plays down the stretch while Edwards was left trying to make one miracle play too many.
Serbia ends Canadian dream with complete performance
A dream run for Canada was brought to an abrupt halt by an excellent Serbian team led by Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Svetislav Pesic’s coaching strategy of forcing the ball out of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s hands early and often threw Canada’s offence into a funk and opened up several transition opportunities, something that was Canada’s strength all tournament.
In addition to those easy baskets, Serbia’s offence was crisp and fluid in the halfcourt and never really got bogged down. For the game, the Serbs shot 71 per cent on twos and 45 per cent on threes. Bogdanovic finished with 23 points in 28 minutes while Nikola Milutinov – Serbia’s starting centre in the absence of Nikola Jokic – made light work of Canada’s interior defence with 16 points and 10 rebounds on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
Foul trouble was a major issue for Canada, with Gilgeous-Alexander, Dillon Brooks, and Dwight Powell getting saddled with two fouls each inside the first seven minutes. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 15 points while R.J. Barrett led Canada with 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
In a path that was littered with significant hurdles from silver medallist France, to the best story of the tournament in Latvia, to defending champion Spain and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic, Canada may be unsatisfied with falling short of the gold-medal game, but can ultimately be proud of an effort that sees the men reach the Olympics for the first time in over two decades.
With an Olympic berth clinched, Canada will play for bronze on Sunday.
PLAY OF THE DAY
With the U.S. in a full-court press, Germany pulled off this tremendous passing sequence to break it and finish with a sweet lay-in.
MOMENT OF THE DAY
Practice makes perfect. Aleksa Avramovic picked both R.J. Barrett and Shai Gilgeous Alexander’s pocket during the Canada-Serbia game and Bogdanovic had nothing but respect for the work Avramovic put in watching film the last couple days to be ready for his moment:
QUOTES OF THE DAY
“The next game is to play for a medal. I know this is emotional for everybody but I know these guys will do whatever it takes to go get that medal.” — Jordi Fernandez, Canada coach
“I have to mention our teammate who’s still in hospital and who’s fighting (Borisa Simanic had a kidney removed after receiving an elbow in the group phase). Like I said in the quarterfinals, I wanna dedicate this win to him and hopefully we’re gonna see him soon with us, with the team and just wanna say that hopefully he feels a little bit better when he knows that he has a medal. I know it’s not important but I hope that we made him a little happy tonight.” — Marko Guduric, Serbia player
“Congrats to Germany, they were fantastic, they deserved the win. Every time we made a run, they made a big shot, got an offensive board, made a big play, so they did what they had to do.” — Steve Kerr, USA coach
“Just a super special group, obviously a historic win for Germany. I don’t know what to say about the game, we’ve got one more to go and super happy we won today.” — Franz Wagner, Germany player
THREE STARS OF THE DAY
1. Andreas Obst (Germany) – 24 points, six assists
2. Bogdan Bogdanovic (Serbia) – 23 points, four rebounds, three assists
3. Daniel Theis (Germany) – 21 points, seven rebounds.
LOOKING AHEAD
Germany will square off against Serbia for gold on Sunday at 8:40 a.m. ET / 5:40 p.m. PT. Before that, Canada will take on neighbours U.S.A. in a battle for bronze at 4:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 a.m. PT.
The games will be available to watch on Sportsnet and SN Now.