Germany, Serbia battle for World Cup gold in all-European finale

Against the odds and predictions, Germany and Serbia are looking to win it all when they collide in an all-European finals showdown in the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Game time is at 8:40 p.m. with the Germans eyeing to achieve a tournament sweep while the Serbians are hoping to complete an unfinished business from 2014. Before that, USA and Canada will figure in the battle for third at 4:45 p.m. as both teams hope to end their respective campaigns on a high.

Germany hasn't been beaten in this global cagefest, beating the likes of other powerhouse squads in Australia, Finland, and Japan in the first round for a 3-0 card. In the second round, though, the Germans proved their opening round performance wasn't a fluke as they ripped Georgia and Slovenia both in lopsided fashion.

Their biggest upset win came during the semifinals, when they booted out USA who was eyeing to redeem itself for a 7th place in the previous edition.

But Germany isn't done just yet.

They look to pull off another upset, this time against the Serbians. And with stars Dennis Schroder, Daniel Theis, and Moritz and Franz Wagner taking the scoring cudgels, Germany is hopeful to bring the Naismith Trophy to their home for the first time in history.

Serbia, however, is expected not to go down easily.

Fresh off a 95-68 semis win against favorite Canada, which was bannered by several NBA players, the Eagles are tipped to give Germany a run for its own money, especially with Bogdan Bogdanovic getting dangerous as the tournament goes.

The Atlanta Hawks standout is the leading performer of this Serbia squad as he has 19.4 points and 4.6 assists while big man Nikola Milutinov leads them in rebounds with 9.0 boards.

Like Germany, Serbia is also looking to get its first championship. The wards of Svetislav Pesic are also hoping history won't repeat itself after they fell short in 2014, where they reached the finals only to bow down to USA.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News