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The 2023 FIBA World Cup has its four semifinalists with Wednesday deciding the last two teams to join the USA and Serbia. Germany and Canada were the teams celebrating at the end of the day with their dreams still alive. Here is how all transpired.
FIBA World Cup results today
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The last two quarterfinals produced close matches with plenty of drama and excitement.
Wednesday quarterfinal scores
Germany def. Latvia 81-79
Canada def. Slovenia 100-89
FIBA World Cup results today – the most memorable displays
The quarterfinals were always going to bring an even better level of basketball and two teams rose to the challenge as they booked their place in the last 4.
Germany vs Latvia
The day started with a dramatic clash between the only undefeated team so far in this tournament Germany and the World Cup debutants Latvia. The close game could have gone either way but in the end, the greater experience of the German squad and the key late contributions from the Wagner brothers saw the Bundesteam prevail 81-79.
Germany started slow, and scored only 13 points in the first quarter, but strong second and third periods saw them build a decent lead. Latvia tried to fight back in the final quarter but the Germans matched them for scoring late on and that was enough.
Frantz Wagner scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds to lead all scorers for the Germans. His brother Mortiz contributed 12 points and this was the main reason why Germany won.
This win is actually pretty impressive considering that Germany’s top scorer and main point guard Dennis Schroder had an awful showing. He shot just 15.4% from the field (4 out of 26) and was 0 from 8 from beyond the arc. Still, the Germans found a way to win.
Latvia simply didn’t get enough help from their supporting cast with Davis Bertans and Arturs Zagars scoring 44 of Latvia’s 79 points between them. The lack of contributions from the rest of the team was the main reason why the Latvians lost.
Canada vs Slovenia
In the other quarterfinal, the fancied Canadians secured their best-ever World Cup finish with a 100-89 win vs Slovenia. There were 11 lead changes in the first half with the game locked at 50-50 at halftime. The match was decided in the third quarter with the Maple Leafs winning that period 30-21.
Luka Doncic tried to keep Slovenia in this contest and he shot 4 out of 6 from beyond the arc for 26 points. Unfortunately, the main centre Mike Tobey got hurt early in the third quarter and despite returning late on after some treatment he was no longer impactful. Without his presence in the paint, Slovenia struggled and this was when Canada made their move and built a 9-point lead that eventually proved enough.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an excellent showing and he finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. RJ Barrett also impressed for the Canadians with his 24 points on 9 of 22 shooting.
Will there be more records broken and more blowout wins during the Friday semifinals? Well, we’ll have to watch and see.
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