THE finalists in the 2023 Fiba Basketball World Cup will be determined on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Fiba Basketball World Cup 2023 semifinals preview
Canada faces Serbia at 4:45 p.m. followed by Team USA against Germany at 8:40 p.m. with the winner going into the championship game on Sunday.
USA and Canada are seen as favorites in the semifinal clash with their NBA roster, but Serbia and Germany remain capable of pulling off an upset.
Germany was leading by as many as 16 points in their World Cup preparation game against USA only to lose, 99-91, in Abu Dhabi. They are also the lone unbeaten team in this World Cup.
Germany, though, is coming off a pulsating 81-79 win over Latvia highlighted by the poor shooting of Dennis Schroder, who had nine points but shot just 4-of-26 from the field.
“Oh boy, where do you want me to start?” Germany coach Gordie Herbert, drawing laughs in response to a question about what Germany needs to improve on against Team USA.”
“Offensively and defensively, I think we given up the least amount of points coming to this game… Offensively, we only had 10 assists. I would say that’s the biggest thing that we need to improve on,” Herbert said.
Herbert though is confident that Schroder can redeem himself in the next game.
“I have no doubt he will bounce back,” said Herbert.
USA advanced with a 100-63 win over Italy, an effort that head coach Steve Kerr described as their best defensive performance of the tournament.
Canada coach Jordi Fernandez, on the other hand, has high regard for Serbia due to their vast Fiba experience, something that his team doesn’t have.
Serbia defeated Lithuania, 87-68, with Bogdan Bogdanovic showing the way for the team coached by Svetislav Pesic.
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