Jubilation for Germany after historic FIBA World Cup Win
It was jubilation for the Germans after being crowned world champions at the FIBA World Cup final in Manila. Following the historic win, NBA star Dennis Schröder held court in a lively press conference and it was clear the team could not hide their emotions.
While Schröder was answering questions from the press, cheering teammates interrupted him. Though amused, Schroeder playfully responded by splashing water on them as they exited the room.
It can't be overstated just how important Sunday's win was for Germany. For the first time ever, Germany is a basketball world champion.
The Germans won the final against Serbia with a final score of 83-77.
The German team were led by Gordon Herbert, but Serbian coach Svetislav Pesic also had his own ties to the winning team. Pesic trained the German team for a long time and led them to the European Championships in 1993.
The intensity and determination of both teams was noticeable from the start. Each team competed for every moment, which made the game incredibly close and unpredictable.
After Germany was 0:5 behind at the start, they managed to get to the top for the first time with a score of 10:9. From then on, the lead changed constantly, with no team able to establish a clear lead.
In the final quarter, both teams were under intense pressure, which made it difficult for them to score. In the end, it came down to individual efforts.
Shortly before the end of the game, Dennis Schröder called for more movement from his team during a break. Although Germany's lead was shrinking, Schröder managed to score a crucial goal to make it 81:77 with 22 seconds to go.
The match finally tipped in Germany's favor when a handling error caused Serbia to play the ball wide.
Dennis Schröder was the top scorer for Germany with 28 points, closely followed by Berlin's Franz Wagner with 19 points, who was also honored as the best player in the final.
Schröder received the award as player of the entire tournament and will go down in German basketball history with his entire team.
As for the coach, he called the monumental win one of the most emotional experiences of his life. In an interview after the game, he himself said to Bild how little he slept and how much it'd affected him.
When asked what he would now reward himself for winning, he surprised everyone by saying that he wanted to buy a car, preferably an SUV from Mercedes or Audi. Perhaps he's picked up a love for the German autos after spending so much time with the team...