Germany vs Serbia
The Germany-Serbia matchup is the FIBA World Cup final that no one saw coming. The two nations pulled off massive FIBA World Cup 2023 results to be here, and one of them can bring home the coveted gold medal when they convene on Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Germany got to this point by eliminating Latvia in the quarter-finals and Team USA in the semi-finals, whereas Serbia are here after dispatching Lithuania in the quarter-finals and Canada in the semi-finals.
So it’s guaranteed that there will be a new champion. Whether they win or lose tomorrow, Germany are about to have their best-ever finish in this tournament, while Serbia are back at this exact stage after nine years.
Talking Points
Bogdanovic and Schroder go head-to-head
The two stars to look out for tomorrow are Bogdan Bogdanovic and Dennis Schroder, for obvious reasons. Bogdanovic and Schroder are not far off from each other in the tournament’s MVP ladder since their teams rely heavily on them to create and take shots.
Bogdanovic, the leading scorer at the 2019 World Cup, is still firing on all cylinders for an inspired Serbia squad. The Hawks swingman is averaging 19.4 points on 52-per cent shooting from the field.
In Serbia’s 95-86 win against Canada, Bogdanovic set a number of new records in the World Cup.
With 70 three-pointers made (and counting), he has now made the most three-pointers by a single player in the competition over the last 30 years. Bogdanovic also now holds the longest streak of games with at least one three-point shot made in the World Cup, with 24 games in a row.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder bounced back against Team USA last night after a woeful display against Latvia in the previous round.
Against the Stars and Stripes, the Raptors guard recorded 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the field while dishing nine assists and two steals, which is in stark contrast to his 4-for-26 shooting night against Latvia, where he only finished with nine markers.
Schroder’s biggest shot so far in this tournament was when he hit a stepback jumper over Austin Reaves with 41 seconds left to ice the game for Die Mannschaft.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge Franz Wagner’s positive impact in Germany.
After sitting out the whole first and second rounds, the Magic forward dropped 16 and 22 points against Latvia and Team USA, respectively. His two-way ability is not to be discounted for this upcoming match.
Role players stepping up
But as shown in this tournament, the games aren’t won by the stars alone, and Germany and Serbia have a handful of players who can swing the tides of this gold medal game.
Nikola Milutinov deserves praise for holding it down in the middle for Serbia in lieu of Nikola Jokic. In this tournament, the 28-year-old bruiser is nearly averaging a double-double at 13.6 points and nine rebounds per contest.
He will have his hands full against Moritz Wagner and Daniel Theis, who are averaging 12.4 and 12.1 points per game, respectively.
Andreas Obst probably deserves a shot in the NBA following his Man of the Match performance in the semi-finals. The 27-year-old forward recorded 24 points and six assists, including four three-pointers, to vanquish Team USA.
History
Believe it or not, Germany are the only undefeated team left in this tournament with seven consecutive wins. This is such a big jump considering they never finished within the Top 10 in their last two appearances in 2019 (18th) and 2010 (17th).
On the other hand, Serbia have now made it to two of the last three World Cup finals. They were badly beaten 129-92 by Team USA in 2014, so this is their shot at redemption.
Should they win on Sunday, Serbia will get its first gold medal in its current iteration, as the country was part of two previous World Cup triumphs when it was still part of Yugoslavia.
What are the odds?
The SBOTOP FIBA World Cup 2023 odds expect a tight gold medal battle between Germany and Serbia because they’re priced at 1.90 and 1.94, respectively, in the money line.
If you’re backing Serbia, you can go for -1.00 at 1.97 in the Asian Handicap market. Otherwise, you can go for a Germany victory at -1.50 at 2.00. However, the safest bet out there is probably going Under 175.00 at 1.88 since FIBA games are normally low-scoring. We’ve seen Serbia win games through their defence, so they will fancy their chances if that’s the case.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE BASKETBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
