After what’s been an amazing couple of weeks of elite level basketball, the 2023 FIBA World Cup will conclude on Sunday night (AEST) with a Gold Medal showdown between Germany and Serbia. We have you covered with a game preview and best bet for the World Cup Final below. Good luck to everyone following!
FIBA Basketball World Cup Final Betting Tips
Germany vs Serbia
Sunday 10:40pm AEST, September 10th, Mail of Asia Arena (Philippines)
After being slightly fortunate to get past Latvia in the quarter-finals, Germany upped their level substantially in the semi-finals on Friday night when defeating heavy Gold Medal favourites, USA. Their offence was firing on all cylinders from the opening whistle as they put 113 points on the board, led by Andreas Obst who scored 24 and drained four triples.
Getting Franz Wagner back from injury has been important for the Germans. He was impactful off the bench in the quarter-finals and was just as good in a starting role against USA as he poured in 22 points. Equally important on Friday night was Dennis Schroder’s return to form. He had 17 points on 7-13 shooting, which is a whole lot better than the nine points on 4-26 shooting that he had against Latvia.
Despite being without two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, Serbia have managed to defy the odds and make it all the way to the World Cup Final. They too pulled off a sizeable upset in the semi-finals, taking care of the more fancied Canadians by nine points (95-86).
Captain of the team, Bogdan Bogdanovic led from the front once again last outing with 23 points on 8-12 shooting. He’s averaging a tick over 19 points per contest at the World Cup and is shooting a lethal 40.4% from deep range. Big man Nikola Milutinov has also been important for their success, averaging 13.6 points and nine rebounds per game.
Match prediction: These nations are certainly no strangers as they’ve met eight times since 2010, with the head-to-head count currently locked at four wins apiece. However, Serbia have won four of their past six meetings including their most recent one which was in the final of the DBB Supercup in 2022 (83-56). It’s important to note that many of the same players from that clash are set to suit up on Sunday night, particularly for Germany.
Interestingly, the bookmakers have had a tough time determining a favourite for the World Cup Final with both teams currently priced around the $1.90 mark to get the win. However, considering their rich history in finals of major tournaments (2x World Cup winners, 3x EuroBasket winners) and recent dominance in the H2H (four wins in past six meetings), I’m happy to give Serbia the slight edge in what should be an entertaining final.
Serbia to Win
$1.94 (1.5 Units)
