Germany is set to face the United States in the semifinals of the Basketball World Cup, marking a rematch of their exhibition game earlier this summer, where the Americans had to mount a significant comeback to secure a win.
Franz Wagner led the way with 16 points as Germany, the sole remaining undefeated team in the World Cup, narrowly defeated Latvia 81-79 in a quarterfinal clash on Wednesday. The game remained closely contested for the first 30 minutes before Germany managed to pull away in the fourth quarter.
The next challenge for Germany is a matchup against the United States on Friday, with a place in Sunday's gold-medal game at stake. In their previous encounter on August 20 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, the U.S. overcame a 16-point second-half deficit and staged an 18-0 run late in the game to win 99-91. However, it's important to note that the August game was a scrimmage, whereas Friday's contest will be an official World Cup semifinal.
Andreas Obst contributed 13 points for Germany, even though Dennis Schroder struggled with a 4-for-26 shooting performance.
Latvia had strong performances from Arturs Zagars, who scored 24 points, and Davis Bertans, who added 20 points to their tally.
With this victory, Germany is guaranteed at least its second-best finish in international basketball events, including the World Cup and the Olympics. The Germans previously achieved third place in the 2002 world championships (now called the World Cup) but have never finished higher than seventh in the Olympics.
Latvia, in its first World Cup appearance, still has the opportunity to secure a fifth-place finish. They will face Italy in the consolation playoffs on Thursday and then compete for either fifth or seventh place on Saturday.
The U.S. advanced to the semifinals by convincingly defeating Italy 100-63 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The American team took a break on Wednesday to visit the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial, where they participated in a brief ceremony to honor the memory of World War II soldiers buried or memorialized there. They will resume practice on Thursday in preparation for the upcoming challenge posed by Germany, a team they faced just three weeks ago.