Germany – Serbia 83:77 (23:26, 24:21, 22:10, 14:20)
Serbia has won the silver medal at the World Championship in Manila, marking another historic achievement for Serbian basketball. In the grand final, the Serbian national team lost to Germany 77:83. The game started with points from Stefan and Nikola Jovic, giving Serbia an initial lead of 5:0. On the other side, Germany responded with Franz Wagner and Schröder. In the third minute of the match, Ognjen Dobric suffered an injury during a drive and had to leave the game, with Vanja Marinkovic taking his place. The teams traded leads throughout much of this period, and after seven minutes of play, the score was tied at 19:19. Serbia was slightly more efficient towards the end of the first quarter, leading 26:23 after ten minutes.
In the second quarter, after two free throws by Filip Petrusev, Germany went on a 7:0 run, which was countered by a three-pointer from Captain Bogdanovic and a steal and basket by Dejan Davidovac. The Serbia national team managed to regain a +4 lead after two good defensive plays, but Germany once again responded with a mini 5:0 run, taking a minimal lead, prompting a timeout by Coach Pesic. At halftime, the game was completely even at 47:47.
The intense battle continued in the third quarter, with Germany taking a +4 lead at one point. However, Milutinov’s free throws brought Serbia within -2 with 15 minutes left in the game. Serbian players found solutions in offense, but the ball refused to go through the hoop, even from the free-throw line. Additionally, some physical contact under the rival’s basket was called clean, resulting in a series of points for Germany, who established an 11-point lead by the end of the third quarter, with a score of 69:57.
The beginning of the final quarter brought a 7:2 run for Serbia, as they tried to narrow the gap. However, Germany controlled the game and maintained a seven to nine-point lead, capitalizing on Serbian offensive mistakes. Aleksa Avramovichit his second three-pointer in this quarter, was fouled on a three-point attempt, and reduced the deficit to 75:78 with 1:21 left. Bogdanovic stole the ball, but Guduric missed a three-pointer. Schröder was fouled and made one of two free throws for Germany, making it 79:75 with 48.7 seconds left. Guduric was fouled on a drive, made both free throws, and brought Serbia to 77:79 with 39.5 seconds remaining. Schröder made an entry basket, giving Germany an 81:77 lead with 21.4 seconds left. Avramovic missed a three-pointer, Guduric made a poor pass, and then Schröder was fouled. The German captain made both free throws, sealing the victory.
Bogdan Bogdanovic in the Tournament’s Best Five!
Captain of Serbia, Bogdan Bogdanovic, was selected in the tournament’s Best Five, along with Dennis Schröder (Germany), Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Canada), Anthony Edwards (USA), and Luka Doncic (Slovenia). The MVP of the tournament was Dennis Schröder.
Svetislav Pesic, Head Coach:
“Congratulations to Germany on an excellent game. They deserved this victory; they played for 40 minutes at a high level, with continuity, and very physical basketball. Germany finished the championship without a loss, and we should congratulate them on that. Our situation was different. We needed more, a bigger rotation. We didn’t know if Milutinov could play until the last moment due to a muscle problem he had against Canada. We had only 48 hours to prepare him, which was very tough. We lost a crucial player in Dobric at the start of the game. Bogdanovic didn’t feel well before the game. I haven’t seen so many problems in such a short period in my life… Congratulations again to Germany; they played excellent basketball and deserved this medal. I’m proud of my players, who can’t be anything but proud of this team. We’ve been on the road for a long time, since August 17th; every day, we’ve been living together as a family. We’ve become good friends, more than a coach-player relationship. I love them all. We found each other; they trust me, and I trust them. We were dedicated, and we compensated for what was lacking.”
Aleksa Avramovic:
“We achieved a great success, our heads are held high. We’ve already forgotten this; our next goal is the Olympic Games, where we want to achieve even more. Germany did a great job; their desire and physicality decided it. We had a chance to tie it at the end, but we couldn’t make it. We were worried about our friend Borisa Simanic; today we quickly lost Ognjen Dobric, who was one of our key players, and we know what he brought us during the tournament. Nikola Milutinov also had problems; we were all in trouble. That’s not an excuse; we move on. We’ll be smiling again tomorrow…”