Team USA have been eliminated from the FIBA World Cup at the hands of Germany, after a tight match which ended in a 111-113 loss in Manila, Philippines, this Friday.
Head coach Steve Kerr was devastated by his squad’s defeat, but assured that the level of other men’s basketball national teams shouldn’t come as a surprise anymore.
“The game has been globalized over the last 30 years. These games are difficult. This is not 1992 anymore,” he said. “Players are better all over the world. Teams are better. It’s not easy to win the World Cup or the Olympics,” the coach answered when asked about the United States’ inability to conquer the World Cup in recent years.
Germany beats Team USA 113-111 to advance to the FIBA World Cup Final 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Iq2LZYSFCt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 8, 2023
The Warriors coach then proceded to congratulate his opponents as they make their way to the World Cup final this Sunday against Serbia.
“Congrats to Germany, they were fantastic and deserved the win. Every time we made a run, they had a big shot or got an offensive board and made a big play. They did what they had to do. I’m really proud of the guys, they were courageous throughout the game. But we just couldn’t get there,” Kerr shared.
According to Team USA’s trainer, Germany took advantage of their faults throughout the match, as he considers the team’s defense was never on point.
“That was the main point. I give Schroder a ton of credit, he’s a tough guard to handle. He’s quick, he gets the ball and penetrates constantly, which threatens and compromises the defense,” Kerr gave his impressions on the German point guard, who dropped 17 points and handed out 9 assists.
“I thought we made some mistakes. It sounds crazy, but the first offensive rebound of the game… Right from the beginning, we should have set the tone, and we didn’t. And it opened opportunities to Obst. The whole game opened for him,” he continued.
However, the Toronto guard wasn’t the only player praised by the United States head coach, as Andreas Obst led his country in points.
“Obst was 8 from 9 shooting free throws and had a bunch of threes. I think he was one of the keys, and we couldn’t control him,” Kerr recognized the German sharpshooter.
The United States players were self-critical and acknowledged they were beaten by a stronger team
This Friday, Germany were on an impressive shooting display, hitting 58% of their field goals and connecting 43% of their attempts beyond the arc.
Even though they won by a narrow margin, the Europeans were still able to mantain control over most of the contest, leading the score board during 30 minutes and 29 seconds.
“Congrats to Germany. Much respect for them. They played great from the start to the finish. They stuck to the game plan and won the game. Much credit,” Jalen Brunson said.
Even though the Knicks guard had 15 points and 7 rebounds, he was not a fan of his performance. “Terrible. Plain and simple,” he admitted.
“We knew the task at hand, and that was to go win,” said Austin Reaves after the game. “And we didn’t do that.”
“If you give up 113 points in a 40-minute game, you’re not going to win many of those,” the guard recognized.
