2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup Final: Germany’s Victory Over Serbia

At halftime, there was a turnover ceremony to formally transfer the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup hosting rights from the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia to Qatar. This will be the first time in the tournament’s history that the competition will take place in the Middle East and North Africa. With Germany earning its first World Cup championship, the winning team received the Naismith Trophy for the second time since its current version was adopted in 2017.

The 19th FIBA Basketball World Cup was place in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10, 2023, marking the first time the competition has been contested in multiple nations. The Philippines and Japan were the automatic hosts, but Indonesia was unable to go past the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals—a requirement imposed by FIBA in order for the nation to be eligible for the competition.

Spain was the World Cup 2019 defending champion. Although they finished third behind Canada and Latvia, they were eliminated in the second round despite winning their first round group. Though Serbia, the former Yugoslavia, won the FIBA Basketball World Cup twice in a row as the former Yugoslavia, Germany has only won the tournament once. In 2010 during the World Cup, Germany defeated Serbia 82–81 in double overtime.

Venue

The Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, a city in Metro Manila, the Philippines, hosted the final. The arena, which was selected as the Final Phase venue on April 28, 2023, was one of the five proposed locations for the joint World Cup bid by the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. Twelve group stage games, four games in the second round, four games in the 17–32 classification, and all of the final phase games were held there.

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Game Analysis

Given that neither side was favored in their semifinal matches, many people thought that the matchup between Germany and Serbia was an unexpected championship match. None of the respondents to FIBA’s media survey predicted Germany or Serbia to win the championship; instead, they preferred record-holders United States. The first quarter of the match was fiercely contested and ended with a score of 23–26. In the second quarter, Serbia went on a rampage and took a four-point lead (38–42) after a step-back three-pointer by Bogdan Bogdanovic.

Germany was able to mount a comeback, and the two sides were level at 47–47 at the half. There had only been two ties at halftime in a World Cup final. After embarking on a 15–4 run in the third quarter, Germany took the lead and held a 12-point advantage going into the final quarter.

After Aleksa Avramovic scored 13 points in the quarter, Serbia rallied. Just three points up with 1:21 left, Germany’s Isaac Bonga passed the ball to Marko Guduric, who was fouled and failed to make a layup. In the last minute of play, Germany led 79-77 after more free throws from Serbia and Germany.