Germany sweeps way to WC crown, edges Serbia in dramatic finale

BY REYNALD I. MAGALLON

Sep 10, 2023 11:13 PM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• Dennis Schroder displayed nerves of steel and took over in crunchtime as Germany swept its way to its very first 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup crown with a nerve-wracking 83-77 victory over Serbia in the final on Sunday, Sept. 10, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

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Simply unbeatable.

Dennis Schroder displayed nerves of steel and took over in crunchtime as Germany swept its way to its very first 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup crown with a nerve-wracking 83-77 victory over Serbia in the final on Sunday, Sept. 10, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Germany celebrates with the Naismith Trophy after ruling the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup. (Ali Vicoy)

The Mannschaft rode on a huge third quarter onslaught before holding off a brave comeback from Serbia with Schroder scoring the last five points for Germany to win the Naismith Trophy and its first podium since legend Dirk Nowitzki led the Deutschland to a bronze medal finish in the 2002 edition. 

Germany emerged undefeated in eight games in the three-week tournament, topping the group stage with a 5-0 record before taking down Latvia in the quarterfinal and stunning the fancied USA team in the semifinals.

Schroder exploded for 28 points – none bigger than the gutsy layup with 21.6 seconds left that kept Germany afloat, 81-77, against the furious rally from the Serbians spearheaded by Aleksa Avaramovic.

Embracing his role as the main man for the German squad, Schroder led by example and put on a tournament-long brilliance, enough for him to bag the tournament MVP citation much to delight of the sold-out 12,022 crowd

Franz Wagner continued his stellar performance in the final phase with 19 points and seven rebounds while Johannes Voightmann chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds. 

Germany created some separation in the third frame when it unloaded a 17-4 closeout that turned a tight 55-53 affair into a 69-57 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes of the contest.

Avramovic tried to carry the fight in the final frame, towing Serbia within three, 79-76, before Schroder delivered the killing blows towards the end.

Avramovic led the way for Serbia with 21 points while Bogdan Bogdanovic couldn’t sustain his hot start finishing with only 17 points after being saddled by foul trouble. 

Their efforts, however, went futile in the end as the Eagles couldn’t get the job done with its second bridesmaid finish in the global showpiece, repeating the same heartbreak in 2014 when they lost to Spain. 

PH Blu Girls absorb thrashing against powerhouse Japan

BY REYNALD I. MAGALLON

  

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AT A GLANCE

• The Philippine women’s softball team succumbed to world powerhouse Japan in just four innings, absorbing a 13-0 demolition in the WBSC 

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The Philippine women’s softball team succumbed to world powerhouse Japan in just four innings, absorbing a 13-0 demolition in the WBSC Women’s Softball World Cup 2023 at Campo Comunale di Softball in Italy late Sunday night, July 23 (Manila time).

Glory Alonzo of PH Blu Girls (WSBC photo)

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The world ranked No. 2 Japanese proved to be too much for the Blu Girls, immediately asserting their dominance in the first inning with seven runs including an inside-the-park home run from Kyoko Ishikawa.

The Blu Girls pitchers in Celyn Ojare, Glory Alonzo and Ann Antolihao tried everything they got to try and make the Japanese batters uncomfortable but they were simply too poised for the Filipinas even scoring six more runs in the second inning.

The Filipinas remained winless through two games after also absorbing a 5-0 defeat against Canada while Japan now stands at the second spot of the Group C standings with a 2-0 record behind the 3-0 slate of host Italy.

The world No. 26 Blu Girls gun for the breakthrough win against fellow winless team and No. 22 team Venezuela Monday afternoon.

Gilas Girls open promotion bid in style, romp Hong Kong

 BY REYNALD I. MAGALLON

Jul 11, 2023 01:27 AM

  

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AT A GLANCE

• The Gilas Pilipinas Girls team opened its bid for a Division A promotion in style, dominating Hong Kong, 79-40, for a rousing start in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman, Jordan on Monday, July 10.

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The Gilas Pilipinas Girls team opened its bid for a Division A promotion in style, dominating Hong Kong, 79-40, for a rousing start in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship at the Prince Hamza Hall in Amman, Jordan on Monday, July 10.

Ava Fajardo, as expected, leads the way for Gilas Pilipinas in rousing first win. (FIBA Photo)

Suffocating on the defensive end with their ball pressure and relentless on the other with the fast-paced attacks, the Filipinas easily controlled the contest and built a lead that went to as high as 41 points.

The two holdovers from the previous U16 team, as expected, led the way for the Filipinas with Ava Fajardo, the younger sister of Gilas seniors team guard Ella, dropping 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field.

The other, Ryan Kelly Nair, chipped in 12 points while newcomers Alyssia Palma added 10 and Ariel Star De La O posted seven points and 12 rebounds.

Pegged as one of the favorites in the competition, Gilas had an early show of force and started like a house on fire, opening the game with a 10-0 rally. 

There was a bit of resistance from Hong Kong when it cut the lead down to just four, 15-11, late in the first quarter but that was basically it for them.

The Nationals then went on to clamp down on the defensive end, limiting their opponents to single-digit scoring in the middle quarters while they breached the 20-point marks in all of the last three quarters to essay the rout.

Tsz Ching Kam paced Hong Kong with 14 points while Yan Ting Tai added 11 markers and 10 rebounds in a losing effort.

Up next for Gilas is Maldives on Tuesday night, July 11 (Manila time), as the Filipinas gun for one of the top two spots in Group A to advance to the knockout rounds.