I reckon its gonna end up Canada Vs USA (not exactly out on a limb there).

Hopefully Germany can give it a red hot crack against the US. Serbia v Canada should be a cracker, but SGA is a superstar in his prime and going at 100%. If their three main wings (Dort, Brooks, Barrett) can hit anywhere near as well as they did from outside last night I think they get up.

My gut says ...

USA to beat Canada in the final, Serbia to take 3rd

And Latvia to beat Lithuania for 5th, Slovenia to beat Italy for 7th.

USA will win. They can now win at their own game. It's like playing a near top seeded NBA team against a low seed NBA seed (Eg Memphis v Rockets). Playing against a cohesive euro team would have been a wild card.

Serbia to beat Germany (just).

Germany 4th, Serbia could upset Canada, i tipped Canada v US final but Serbia have been impressive. So I'll go
USA
Serbia
Canada
Germany
Lithuania
Latvia
Slovenia
Italy
Boomers should have been better than the bottom four at least and Germany imo.

Germany are clearly a better team than us, they beat us without Fritz Wagner too who got injured in the game before.

USA through to the gold medal game, but Germany will compete.

Canada Serbia I think will be a great contest.
If I had to bet, id put my money on Canada, but Serbia could get this. They're a very cohesive unit.

Murray/Jokic would've made this match up even more interesting

USA feels like a coach dealing with an all-star game, trying to find minutes for everyone. They obviously have superior athleticism and individual talent, but Serbia could be a great match for them if they win through.

One problem for the USA seems to be that if you shrink to an eight-man rotation, you might cut out Kessler and Portis who are the two tallest. Jackson Jr is a decent big, but not getting many rebounds. Easy to keep Ingram and Johnson on the bench though.

Entertaining game, much more relaxed, Lithuania by 12, Slovenia tired. 33-21 @1/4

Luka is such an entertaining machine, every time Slovenia get close, Lithuania pulls away. No real pressure in the game.

Predictions?

Serbia over Canada by 10

USA over Germany by 8

Final USA over Serbia by 5

Canada Gold for me

USA silver

Germany Bronze

You forgot:

Greg Hire to present the award to Canada.

The Raptors fan is in the crowd.

That guy is dedicated!

A good even game, not too much flopping or playing to the refs. I think Canada's athleticism will win out in the end.

Listen to that crowd.
This atmosphere is way better than an NBA game
Hope the reffing evens out though.
Canada have reason to be peeved at this point.

Canada have been unlucky with this reffing. Much more even game than the score line suggests. Expecting a big 3rd quarter run by Canada I think!

Serbia have been slightly better as score says, long way to go.

All without the joker...

If Canada gets a bit of a lead, I think we'll see a bit of USF stuff from Serbia.

Where is fiba headquarters. Disgusting call on Olymic

lol at the comments. You'd think it’s a really close game from reading this thread. I guess you guys aren’t watching the game. Serbia have been far superior and have controlled this from tip off. Not once has Canada looked like getting back into it.

Serbia are legit. What a team.

Where is that little bitch Jacket? Bye bye Brooks you wannabe gangster lol

Brooks still carrying on like a pork chop after the final buzzer. See ya pal!

lol at the comments. You'd think it's a really close game from reading this thread. I guess you guys aren’t watching the game. Serbia have been far superior and have controlled this from tip off. Not once has Canada looked like getting back into it.

Serbia definitely deserve this.
They've been clinical all tournament.
Should be a competative final.

All NBA players again means....

young Serbian team too. 20-28y.o, just 2 in early 30s

I tipped Serbia, still thought Canada got a few crap calls, ah yes though Serbia seriously good.

My favourite bit was when they subbed Edey on and Serbia immediately gave Milutinov a rest!

Serbia's basketball IQ is off the charts.

Yep, Serbia too good. I expected Canada to play faster and move around more so that their athleticism would prevail, but ...

Given what they did to Canada, I can see Serbia having the skills and confidence to win the gold.

Serbia's basketball IQ and organization are excellent.
But I would like to praise their team defense.
They had no mismatches. They may not have had enough athletic ability compared to Canada, but they were all tall and strong. It's definitely important that there aren't a lot of holes in the defense.

Serbia have been the best team in this tournament, that's why I tipped them

FIBA Bogdanovich

Can't get over Josh Hart starting at the 4 for Team USA

Paris Olympics is going to be the best ever

USA
Germany
Canada
Serbia with Jokic
France with Wemby
Lithuania with Sabonis
Slovenia

and, um... Australia? Sheesh… the window isn't quite open as it was 2016-2021

Serbia were clinical. Have been all tourny

It's all the more incredible cos Like Lithuania there's barely any carry over players from Eurobasket last year. We can talk about Euro teams getting more experience at major tourneys but it doesn't seem to apply in these two cases

John Casey called this a quarter final game.

Tough first quarter, Germany by two, US just starting to warm up.

Germany can win if they continue this blitzkrieg.

What a game, both sides shooting like the bucket is the size of the ocean. Gleeson thinks they're the best two teams in tournament. Edwards should be the difference.

Wow loving this can we hope for overtime

John Casey called this a quarter final game.

Germany could get to 100 points by 3QT.

I don't recall a team leading the US in such a high scoring game before.

Oh my, the thriller in Manila. US playing very good, can Germans hold on. Loving Gaze and Gleeson on commentary.

100 points conceded in 32 minutes.

Gaze and Gleeson the best commentary combo I've heard in a loooong time

This inability to pronounce "Schröder" correctly is really getting on my nerves.

Only switched on in the third quarter, have Germany had control the whole way?

Yes, and very smoothly.

Cmon Germany.
Franz is legit.

Foul trouble hurting Germany defensively. US do what they do shoot it.

Squeaky bum time.

While we're at it Gleeson saying 'America' is annoying.

Letsssss gooooo

USA/Canada and Germany/Serbia on Sunday, exactly as expected.

When I look at Reaves's play, I think of Patty, Giddey, and Kay.
That's why mismatch is so important in defense. They become targets.

The most important thing in this World Cup is defense, not offense.
What Germany and Serbia have in common is defense. They do not allow mismatches. Rather, they know how to attack the opposing team's mismatches. There is a good balance between inside and outside.

Basketball, the best game in the world. Oh what a match. The German coach is an excellent coach. Glad with the result but hats off to the US.
Hopefully the gold medal game we get the same commentary.

Bring on Sunday, should be a classic. Who would have thought.

On the flipside Coach K's areshole has more FIBA coaching knowledge than Steve Kerr.

That was a really good game to watch. Team play vs skill + athleticism.

Love FIBA basketball.

Also, fuck Dillion Brooks :)

Love FIBA basketball.

Gleeson loving the team play, can't wait to see him coaching again.

Reavers kickin himself...
Could have played for Germany.

Banchero misses gold, could be on the Italian team.

Germany the next FIBA powerhouse

One of the all-time great international games, even topping the two classic USA v Spain finals that were just incredible shootouts. Just awesome basketball to watch. Will be interesting to see if Germany has the post-USA letdown in the final?

The importance of defense

USA's interior defense was a mess.

Points in the Paint
50 (25/36) 69%

Germany like many others will be stacked going forward.
The womens team also climbing fast.

"On the flipside Coach K's areshole has more FIBA coaching knowledge than Steve Kerr."

How did Coach K go in his first two World Cups? Did a great job with team USA, but he learned some lessons early on too.

Noah Lyles statement holds even more merit now.
Such great results to wake up to

Perspective on Australia's tournament changes a little now.

Germany bullied USA inside attacking size advantage...

Franz beautiful to watch, reminds me of FIBA Toni Kukoc

Not sure it does Manders. Franz Wagner is a big piece of the equation. Huge concerns for us moving forward to match it with these these top 4 teams.

Biggest winner last night was Noah Lyles, this plays right into his comments.

The winner of the World Cup is the world champion.

Biggest winner from last night was the Olympic tournament, USA probably sends a full strength team now, and that will have a ripple effect for the others like Jokic, Giannis etc.

It seems kind of fitting that European TEAMS fight out the final of the FIBA World (!) Cup, rather than a bunch of stars from the (US) NBA.

It must JT. Add Landale. We're not far off. I know this place is full of negativity, but we’re really not far off, and the experience will have been invaluable.

Only saw last quarter and not sure how Germany scored 90+ in first 3 quarters, will have to watch replay

I expect Germany will have their post-USA off game. Serbia for gold, after again playing someone who just beat USA.

No doubt bookies and casual fans over estimate NBA talent and underestimate Euro talent and Euro teamwork. The odds last night were clearly skewed, Serbia and Germany had been the best two teams of the tournament but they were $2.52 and $5.75 to win.

Love international bball.

I mean of course bookies respond to the bets, so this tells you the casual fans were tipping USA/Can when after watching a bit of this tourny, it was clear both Euro teams had better probability than that to win

Germany only unbeaten team, would be disappointing if they now lost, but I agree, they probably come out flat after a performance like that. Magnificent game.

For those saying that this gives the Boomers tournament more context, not really. Germany didn't have Franz Vagner. And even if we were to grant that as an 'okay' game to be optimistic about, the capitulation against Slovenia was embarrassing.

We're watching the assention of the German national team as a powerhouse and I am not sure where it leaves us in the scheme of things. Certainly we're going to need to get better than we were this year if we have any hope of medalling in Paris, and the competition will only get tougher.

The USA/Germany game was an instant classic though. That's international basketball at its finest. I was rooting for Germany as hard as I root for the Boomers. I feel like the American arrogance we see all over their media about how easy these tournaments should be for them needs to be knocked down a peg, and it has been. Anything less than a Dream Team for the USA will NOT sweep the pool by 20 per game and win the gold. That's the takeaway. They need to bring the big dogs or it isn't happening. That is the strength of world basketball right now and I am here for it.

World Champions of what, the United States?

Noah Lyles statement holds even more merit now.
Such great results to wake up to

I urge everyone who didn't watch it live to view the replay of the first three and a half quarters.

We are the world.

No doubt bookies and casual fans over estimate NBA talent and underestimate Euro talent and Euro teamwork. The odds last night were clearly skewed, Serbia and Germany had been the best two teams of the tournament but they were $2.52 and $5.75 to win.

Love international bball.

Um, can someone explain to me why Reaves didn't shoot 2 free throws when fouled by Bonga with 33.3 seconds left? Score was 113-109 & Germany were in the penalty.

I'm in the Boomers-not-a-complete-disaster camp, but Slovenia did drop the three games after beating us.

And Germany did thump them without Franz. Slovenia were 22% 3P though.

---

Watch the whole Germany-USA game IMO. Whole thing was entertaining. There were a couple of points where the American comeback looked inevitable but Germany had answers. That Obst three where Halliburton slid out of court was memorable. Here's the highlight video with German commentary which adds to the vibe.

Um, can someone explain to me why Reaves didn't shoot 2 free throws when fouled by Bonga with 33.3 seconds left? Score was 113-109 & Germany were in the penalty.

Yes

Is that the answer then? I don't think you get free throws from an offensive foul when in the penalty. FIBA:

Does not include offensive fouls/fouls by team in possession.

Now we get to hear how US sent their "seventh best team" and how their best would've steamrolled their way through.

I applaud the USA for taking the different approach of trying to take a TEAM of good NBA players rather than a grab-bag of superstars, even though they didn't make the final.

The court of public opinion will damn them whatever they do, just because they’re the US team, more skilled than most, and never short of self-confidence.

I agree, the US competed, they just were not good enough. It doesn't matter if it was a second, third team. I believe that fiba should follow the football, make Olympics under 25 so that the world championships become the best. It’s to easy for the US to turn up to Olympics with the smaller number of teams and not enough from Europe and win.

Boomers are in trouble if they think nba style play is going to win fiba tournaments. Landale will help but some of those international bigs are huge, Voightman, the Warner’s of Germany plus France and Spain are not getting any smaller.

Those guys protect the ring so well that one out attacks don’t work.

The live odds for USA in the tournament win market, during the point in time in which they were only down by one point to Germany, was 1.20. The inverse of those odds is 6.00 which are the closest indicator of what Serbia's odds would have been in such a matchup. Bookmakers love this as they can offer unders on a favourite who the casuals will lap up.

USA is in trouble with their lack of bigs moving forward...

A lot riding on Paulo and Chet developing, and Bam being available…

Ozhooper - no free throws on an offensive foul