Wagner Brothers Capture Historic Gold Medal for Germany at FIBA World Cup
9/10/2023 2:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MANILA, Philippines -- Former University of Michigan basketball stars, Orlando Magic teammates and brothers Moritz and Franz Wagner helped the German national team earn a historic gold medal at the 2023 FIBA World Cup following an 83-77 victory over Serbia on Sunday (Sept. 10) in the championship game at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In the thrilling championship game, Germany (8-0) trailed 26-23 after the first quarter but were able to square the title game at 47 at the half. With a dominant third quarter, Germany built a 12-point advantage heading into the final quarter, outscoring Serbia 22-10.
Not backing down, Serbia continued to chip away in the fourth and drew within two points with 39 seconds left. However, Germany's Dennis Schroder (Toronto Raptors), who finished with 28 points, took over with a clutch driving layup and then a pair of free throws to seal the victory.
Franz, who was awarded the Player of the Game, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and was clutch going 10-for-11 from the free-throw line. Moritz added eight points and four rebounds.
Having secured a spot for the 2024 Olympics in Paris by finishing as one of the two top European teams, the Germany also made history in advancing to the country's first World Cup final. The Germans' prior best finish was in 2002 when a Dirk Nowitzki-led squad helped it to the bronze medal. This is the seventh World Cup for the German national team.
After a perfect 3-0 mark in group play, Germany posted wins over Georgia (100-73, Sept. 1) and Slovenia (100-71, Sept. 3) to advance to the quarterfinals for the third time. Facing Latvia in the quarterfinal, Franz returned from a four-game absence (ankle) with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Moritz had 12 points and four rebounds as the Germans held on to win 81-79 on Wednesday (Sept. 6).
With Germany leading by two, Schroder's shot to close out the game gave Latvia the ball with seven seconds left. Off the inbounds, Davis Bertans' last-second three-pointer from half court bounced off the backboard, securing Germany's first ever trip to the semifinal.
Facing the favorite United States, Franz followed up his return with 22 points and five rebounds, while Moritz added 10 as Germany held on for a second straight game to post a 113-111 victory over the U.S. and advance to face Serbia in its first ever World Cup final. Germany was 0-13 against the U.S. prior to the semifinal victory.
Despite missing four games with an ankle injury, Franz posted four double-figure games and averaged 16.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and three assists per game. Moritz played in all eight games during the run and averaged 11.9 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 60.4 percent from the field and 47.1 percent (8-for-17) from long range.
In addition to the Wagner brothers, U-M had two additional Wolverines competing for their respective home countries -- Olivier Nkamhoua (Finland) and Iggy Brazdeikis (Lithuania). Youssef Khayat (Lebanon) withdrew himself from the national team due to injury.
Brazdeikis, plays professionally with the EuroLeague's Zalgiris based in Kaunas, Lithuania, was instrumental in helping the Lithuanian national team close with a sixth-place finish. Playing in all eight games, he averaged 11 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, posting six double-figure scoring games, including a tournament-best 18 vs. Greece on Sept. 1. He shot 48.5 percent from the field (33-for-68) as well as 52 percent (13-for-25) from long range.
Starting 5-0, including a key 110-104 win over the United States on Sept. 3, Brazdeikis and Lithuania advanced, then fell 87-68 to Serbia in the quarterfinals on Tuesday (Sept. 5). After a 100-85 classification win over Luka Doncic and Slovenia on Thursday (Sept. 7), Lithuania dropped its finale to Latvia, 98-63 on Saturday (Sept. 9) to finish sixth with a 6-2 record.
Nkamhoua, who enters a graduate year with U-M, averaged eight points, 3.8 rebounds and two assists in all five games for the Finnish national team. Despite an 0-3 record in group play, Finland closed its tournament with back-to-back wins over Cape Verde (100-77, Aug. 31) and Venezuela (90-75, Sept. 2). Nkamhoua posted his tournament-best 14 points against Germany on Aug. 29.
Former Wolverine Jevohn Shepherd provided the basketball analysis for the ESPN television broadcasts.
