The European giants have slain the North American titans. Germany and Serbia will play for gold and the title of world champion, not the United States or Canada, their defeated rivals, respectively. Early Friday morning, the Serbs closed out the Canadians 95-86 in a game they controlled wire to wire. Later, the Germans jumped the Americans early before going down by one at the half and then really jumping them in the third quarter. Anthony Edwards and Austin Reaves would fail to rally the United States past Germany in the end, setting the stage for an all-European final.
Germany vs. Serbia: How to watch
Germany vs. Serbia
Date: Sunday, September 10 | Time: 8:40 a.m. ET
Location: Mall of Asia Arena — Manila, Philippines
TV channel: ESPN2 | Live stream: ESPN+, ESPN.com, Fubo (try for free)
Odds: GER -1.5 | O/U 174.5
*Watch FIBA World Cup games live with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Team Germany Roster
Much like Latvia's did, Germany's size inside gave the United States fits. Both centers Johannes Voightmann and Daniel Theis had three offensive rebounds, falling one shy of the United States total of seven. Mo and Franz Wagner add size and flexibility to a big roster, while standout guard Dennis Schroder holds down the backcourt. Click here to view Team Germany's entire roster.
Team Serbia Roster
Much like the Germans, the Serbian team is big. Nikola Jovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic lead a big but mobile squad with plenty of size and skill on the wings to shoot you down if you pack the paint too tightly. Despite the reigning best player in the world, Nikola Jokic, skipping the FIBA World Cup after his NBA Championship run, Serbia has looked very good. Click here to view Team Serbia's entire roster.
Storylines and expectations
Germany is flying into the final at 7-0, the last remaining undefeated team in the tournament. They've won with their best players playing well, and they've overcome poor individual performances with great team ones. And Serbia, coming in at 6-1, has not looked far behind. Their lone loss was by two points to Italy, another strong team, and besides that, they have been perfect. In fact, their nine-point win today was the closest that anyone other than the Italians has gotten to them. It's a clash of international talent, with plenty of NBA talent and players from other leagues as well. It adds more support to Noah Lyles' comment regarding the foolish nature of calling yourself world champions for winning just the NBA. Will each team's NBA stars step up, though? Or will it be more talent from around the world that powers one team or another to victory?
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