PARIS (France) - The rematch of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Final will happen at the 2024 Olympics. However, it won't be another Final, because Germany and Serbia are now battling for bronze in Paris.
Germany lost their Semi-Final to France, unable to pull off a late comeback against the hosts, losing the game by four points. Meanwhile, Serbia were also four points short of upsetting the superstars of USA in a firecracker of a game at the Bercy Arena.
The Third-Place Game will be played at 11:00 CET on Saturday.
Key matchup
Dennis Schroder vs Serbian ball pressure
When they faced off in Manila last summer, Ognjen Dobric was injured after just two minutes of action, and it proved to be too big of a trouble for Serbia, not just because of his outside shooting, but also because of his on-ball defense.
Without him out there, Dennis Schroder made the Final his personal highlight reel, collecting 28 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field, turning the ball over just twice in 34 minutes of playing time.
Germany went on to win the game 83-77, claiming their first World Cup title, getting medal number two of the three planned in three years by coach Gordon Herbert when he took over before the FIBA EuroBasket 2022.
To win three of three medals, Germany will have to have Schroder at his best. To stop Germany from going three of three, Serbia will have to have Dobric, Aleksa Avramovic and Marko Guduric on their best defensive games.
Of course, one way they could slow down Dennis would be to attack him on the other end, too. Avramovic did it in the Final last summer, counting to 21 points, a team-high for Serbia. After scoring 15 first half points against USA in the Semis, Aleksa's confidence is sky high, for sure.
X-factors
Tip-off
Being part of the Olympics means the scheduling gets much more complicated in medal games, fitting the time slots with other sports and events. Hence, the Third-Place Game is a typical French matinee.
While all of these players are elite athletes and professionals, playing a game at 11:00 a.m. is a challenge, especially for Serbia, as they were the ones playing the late game on Thursday.
Another reason why the early tip-off could work in favor of Germany is the fact that they've already experienced it in Bercy, playing the 11:00 game against Greece in the Quarter-Finals.
They talked after the game how they needed time to wake up, and how that's probably the reason why they were down by double digits early on. After that experience, maybe they find themselves up by double digits this time around.
Stats don't lie
These are two similar teams in terms of shooting and percentages, so it will come down to ball protection and easy points. Germany turn the ball over just 11.0 times per game, the best mark at the Olympics.
Meanwhile, Serbia pick up 8.8 steals, and they average 17.2 fast break points per game, a whole 10 more than Germany in the same department.
If Germany can hold Serbia to less than 17 fast break points, they would be that much closer to their first Olympic medal.
If Serbia can provoke 15+ turnovers by Germany, then it would be an all red-blue-white podium, with the Serbian flag next to the United States and France.
Past matchups
The aforementioned Final was just one of many matchups between the two nations, and they usually go down to the wire every time. The only double digit win by either team was at the FIBA EuroBasket 2011, when Serbia defeated Germany 75-64.
We'll mention two other crazy finishes to this rivalry. In 2010, at the FIBA Basketball World Cup, Serbia erased a six-point deficit in the final two minutes of the fourth, only to lose the game in double overtime, 82-81 after a wild Jan-Hendrik Jagla off balance three-pointer.
Serbia got their revenge five years later. At the FIBA EuroBasket 2015, they met in group stage in Germany, and Nemanja Bjelica hit the game-winning floater with a second left to play, getting Serbia a 68-66 win, silencing the packed stands in Berlin.
Expect another close game on Saturday.
More
Read more about Germany here:
Read more about Serbia here:
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