‘Team-first’ mentality nets Germany first Basketball World Cup title

MANILA: Head coach Gordon Herbert hailed Germany’s “team-first” attitude after they beat Serbia to win the Basketball World Cup for the first time on Sunday, going unbeaten throughout the tournament.
Germany beat the Serbians 83-77 in Manila, breaking clear in the third quarter before hanging on for the win in a nervy finish.
Dennis Schroder finished as the game’s top scorer with 28 points and was also named player of the tournament.
Herbert hailed Toronto Raptors point guard Schroder’s impact on the team, saying “we would not be here without him and he would not be here without the team.”
“I think the biggest thing with this team is that we’ve enjoyed being here,” said Herbert.
“I can’t say enough about Dennis Schroder and what he’s meant for German basketball.
“I think Dennis would tell you first that this is a team-first thing.”
Serbia lost small forward Ognjen Dobric to a sprained ankle with less than three minutes of the game gone after a bad landing at the basket.
Star player Bogdan Bogdanovic almost did not play after struggling with illness before the game.
Serbia still managed to launch a furious fourth-quarter fightback and cut the deficit to three points with less than a minute remaining, but it was not enough to stop Germany.
“They deserved this win,” said Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic.
“They played 40 minutes at a high level, with continuity, very physical.
“If one team like Germany won all the games from the start until the end, we must everybody say bravo.”
Germany edged past Latvia in the quarter-finals before beating the United States in a semifinal for the ages.
They were appearing in their first World Cup final and Schroder said it had been “a long ride” since he made his national team debut nine