A much-anticipated meeting between the U.S. and Canada will come to fruition at the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
It just won’t be for the gold medal.
After the Canadians were knocked off by Serbia, the Americans were stunned 113-111 in the second semifinal match by Germany, which built a double-figure fourth-quarter lead and fended off a frantic U.S. rally in the waning minutes.
And so, Serbia and Germany will meet for the gold medal on Sunday in Manilla with the U.S. and Canada playing in the bronze-medal game, one that will feature a slew of elite NBA players.
The gold-medal game won’t have near as many, but the Germans rode the hot hands of Daniel Theis, Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner and non-NBAer Andreas Obst, who had a dagger three-pointer with 1:10 remaining that put Germany up 111-107.
The Americans had struggled throughout and were down 94-84 going into the fourth quarter, a deficit that grew to a dozen on several occasions before the Americans commenced their comeback.
Anthony Edwards, who led the U.S. with 23 points and eight rebounds, had a three-pointer that cut the German’s lead to 106-103.
Moments later, Austin Reaves hit two free throws to make it 108-107, but Obst responded with his clutch three-pointer, part of his team-best 24-point night.
After Mikal Bridges was blocked, Schroder hit a jumper with 40.7 seconds left for a 113-107 advantage and the U.S. was destined for a bronze-medal matchup against the Canadians.
The gold-medal game will not feature any Maverick connections. Big man Maxi Kleber, born in Wurzburg, elected not to play for Germany in this World Cup.
The last remaining Maverick in medal contention will be playing for bronze after the Canadians and Dwight Powell were defeated in the semifinals by Serbia, 95-86.
The Serbians, who were missing two top players, took a 15-point first-half lead against the young, but NBA-laden Canadians.
The tournament already was a success for the Canadians, who qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics by reaching the quarterfinals.
But they could not handle the Serbians, who got 23 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic to make up for the absence of Aleksej Pokusevski (Oklahoma City) and Bogdanovic’s brother, Bojan (Detroit).
Meanwhile, Luka Dončić will close out his tournament early Saturday morning against Italy in the classification game for seventh and eighth places.
The Mavericks’ superstar guard has been battling a thigh injury, according to reports, but has played through any pain. And played well, averaging 26.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists.
The Mavericks convene for training camp on Sept. 29, giving Dončić and Powell several weeks to rest after the six weeks spent practicing for, and playing in, the World Cup.
Twitter: @ESefko
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