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The gold medal game between Germany and Serbia basketball's national team went down to the wire, but ultimately, it was Team Germany who would come away with the win.
Both teams came into the final game of the FIBA World Cup 2023 hungry for their first-ever gold medal, which showed on the court. In the end, however, Germany wanted it more as it beat Serbia 83-77.
The errors that cost Serbia basketball the gold medal
Serbia making it into the gold medal game over teams like Canada and Team USA could be considered a win already, as very few people thought it would even make it this deep into the tournament without Nikola Jokic.
However, the question of what they could have done better to secure the gold instead of the silver medal will linger over Serbia basketball for a while. Here are three things that could have swung the game in Serbia's favor during the gold medal game:
#1 Serbia failed to capitalize on the turnovers it forced
Both Germany and Serbia played very well on the defensive end. Neither team could shoot over 50% from the field due to the defensive intensity, and the defense that was played forced a lot of key turnovers.
Serbia actually had nine steals throughout the contest compared to Germany's five. However, Serbia basketball could only score twelve points off turnovers, while the Dennis Schroder-led Germany converted the errors it forced into nineteen points. The game could have ended differently had Serbia scored a few more of its steals.
#2 Serbia did not capitalize on the misses it forced
Team Germany made 49% of their total field goal attempts throughout the game. While this is still a decent number, it still reflects the defensive intensity of the Serbian team.
However, the Serbians only grabbed seventeen defensive rebounds. They failed to secure the ball after making important defensive stops, which Germany turned into extra scoring opportunities as it came away with twelve second-chance points.
By looking at the stats, fans might be baffled because Serbia basketball had a narrow edge on second-chance points and offensive rebounding. Still, their lack of defensive rebounding would have a heavier impact on the game's results.
#3 Team Serbia appeared to be forcing shots at certain moments
Due to the defense that was played by both teams, it was indeed challenging to score an easy basket for either team. However, Serbia had a more difficult time finding the bottom of the basket as it only shot 41.9% from the field.
There were several moments in the game where it looked like Serbia did not have an answer to Germany's tough defense. Instead of making the necessary adjustments, the Serbians were simply content with forcing difficult shots.
Serbia basketball's Ognjen Dobric (0/1), Nikola Milutinov (0/4) and Marko Guduric (0/4) all ended up without field goals, while Stefan Jovic (1/5), Dejan Davidovac (1/3) would only make one field goal each. On the other hand, Bogdan Bogdanovic had a very efficient seventeen points on a 6/10 clip.
