Germany knocked off Team USA 113-111 on Friday to advance to Sunday’s FIBA Basketball World Cup championship game against fellow European powerhouse Serbia.
— When Team USA assembled its roster and decided on its game plan for this World Cup cycle, it made a bet. It was a sensible bet, and the Americans stacked the deck as much as they could to try to win it, but the reality was they entered knowing they left themselves exposed.
That wager — that size differential could be overcome with other attributes — has failed. Germany, another European team that towered over the Americans, used the given advantage and beat Team USA 113-111 in the world semifinals Friday.
It will deny the Americans gold in the event for a second consecutive time. They will settle for playing for bronze Sunday (ESPN2, 4:45 a.m. ET) against Canada, who lost to Serbia in the day’s other semifinal.
The U.S. played a spirited and aggressive game. The team was just too small, and it showed up repeatedly, just as it did against Lithuania last weekend in the event’s previous loss.
