The giant slayers will play for the right to be called the 2023 FIBA World Cup Champions as Serbia and Germany take center stage and vie for the gold medal this Sunday. Everyone expected a United States versus Canada finale, but the Germans and the Serbians had other plans as they shocked the world with their respective semi-final wins on Friday. Check out our FIBA World Cup Final odds series for our Serbia-Germany prediction and pick.
Serbia took down a surging Canada team that just came off a convincing victory over Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Wednesday. The Serbians had control for much of the game as the Canadians were unable to make a real threat the moment Serbia pulled away with a double-digit lead in the second quarter. Bogdan Bogdanovic was the MVP for his country as he tallied 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and three three-pointers. Nikola Milutinov also imposed his will inside with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Germany pulled off the shocker of the tournament as they eliminated the tournament-favorites United States with a thrilling 113-111 win. Like Serbia, Germany pulled away at one point in the game and established a double-digit lead over the basketball powerhouse. But the United States still made things interesting as they mounted a furious comeback in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to as low as one point. But that proved to be as close as Team USA could get. Andres Obst and Dennis Schroder drained a couple of huge perimeter shots down the stretch to hold the United States at bay and secure their date versus Serbia in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Final.
Here are the 2023 FIBA World Cup odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
2023 FIBA World Cup Odds: Serbia-Germany Odds
Serbia: +1.5 (-130)
Germany: -1.5 (+102)
Over: 175.5 (-111)
Under: 175.5 (-115)
How to Watch Serbia vs. Germany
TV: ESPN2
Stream: ESPN+, Courtside 1891
Time: 8:40 AM ET/ 5:40 AM PT
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why Serbia Will Cover The Spread
Serbia enters their second-ever FIBA World Cup Final as slight underdogs, perhaps because they have less NBA talent overall compared to Germany. Still, that did not prevent them from taking down a Canadian team that has an All-NBA talent in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander leading six other NBA players.
Bogdanovic will obviously lead this team in the championship as he did in Wednesday's 23-point effort. Nikola Milutinov has also turned into a consistent big man capable of dominating the interior, as he did with his 16-point, 10-rebound double-double.
But Serbia wouldn't be in the Final without the standout performance of Ognjen Dobric, who scored a tournament-high 16 points in the win. Dobric was also the primary assignment on Gilgeous-Alexander, who went scoreless in the first quarter and had a subpar outing overall.
The Serbians are also entering this game off a blistering shooting performance. Collectively, they shot over 62 percent from the field and made 9-of-20 from beyond the three-point arc.
Why Germany Will Cover The Spread
Meanwhile, Germany must have all the confidence in the world after they took down the powerhouse United States in the semi-final. Obviously, the job is not done and this team is still hungrier than ever, especially since this is the first time they are going to the FIBA World Cup Final.
The chemistry and connectedness of this German team is on point and this made all the difference in the world in propelling them to the upset win over the United States on Wednesday. Franz Wagner's return has certainly given this team a new dynamic.
Though Germany steamrolled through their opponents up until the group stages without Wagner, it's clear that getting the Orlando Magic stud back was an absolute necessity for this team. Wagner missed four straight games during the tournament due to an ankle injury. But the 22-year-old hasn't missed a step as he has averaged 19 points per game since making his return.
Sharpshooter Andreas Obst put together a shooting masterclass that devastated Team USA. The guard led the Germans with 24 points to go along with six assists and four three-pointers. Obst also made one of the biggest shots of the night — a beautiful side-step three-pointer that extended Germany's precarious one-point lead to four with just over a minute remaining.
Of course, we wouldn't be able to discuss Germany without mentioning Dennis Schroder, who recovered valiantly following his 4-of-26 shooting stinker against Latvia in the quarterfinal. Schroder tallied 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting to go along with nine assists and three three-pointers on Wednesday. Apart from Obst's massive triple, the Raptors guard also made one of the biggest shots of the night — a pull-up jumper with over 40 seconds to go to give Germany a little bit more cushion down the stretch.
Final Serbia-Germany Prediction & Pick
This feels like Germany's year. They are the only undefeated team in the 2023 FIBA World Cup and their win over the United States proves that they are playing on another level. FIBA Dennis Schroder is a real thing, folks, and even if he stinks up the Mall of Asia Arena, he has enough support around him to carry the load offensively. Andreas Obst is an absolute sniper and has found his rhythm over the last four games. Franz Wagner's return has reinvigorated this team and has given them a first or second option on offense.
Serbia has had a magical run as well, considering they don't even have two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Nonetheless, their effort in this tournament is worth applauding. They will unfortunately just have to settle for silver as the gold seems destined to land around the Germans' necks on Sunday.
Final Serbia-Germany Prediction & Pick: Germany: -1.5 (+102)
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