The Germans needed to play their best. They played something close to it.
Germany has pulled off an incredible upset to advance to the FIBA World Cup final after taking down Team USA, 113-111, at the SM Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
It was a tightly contested match between the two powerhouse squads in the first half.
Germany came out hot and built an early 10-point lead, before the Americans woke up and fought back to tie the game. As they had done all tournament long, Team USA's bench unit brought more energy to the game as the two teams exchanged leads all throughout the game's first 20 minutes.
Come the third quarter, however, the Germans slowly but surely built a 10-point lead after great efforts on both ends of the court and some hot shooting from Andreas Obst.
Team USA, though, continued to fight its way back in the fourth as it trimmed the Germans' lead to just 1 with over a minute left in the game.
However, Obst hit a crucial three-pointer to give the Germans some breathing room, which ultimately helped seal the stunning victory.
Obst, who finished with 24 points, was one of three German players who scored more than 20 points in the game, as big men Daniel Theis and Franz Wagner chipped in 21 and 22 points, respectively.
Anthony Edwards, meanwhile, led the way once more for the Americans with 23 points, his second highest scoring performance in this FIBA World Cup.
With the win, Germany will go on to the final to face fellow European nation Serbia.
This will be the second all-European final in the FIBA World Cup in the 21st century, after Spain versus Greece in 2006 in a tournament also held in Asia (Japan).
USA, on the other hand, will face off with Canada for the bronze medal.
Both games will be on Sunday, also at the MOA Arena.
(MDB)