By George Efkarpides/ info@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – The next win-or-go-home situation for the USA is coming up tomorrow, Friday. The team coached by Steve Kerr will take on Germany in the Mall of Asia Arena.
Nearing the conclusion of a long and demanding journey, navigating FIBA rules and the overall environment of major international tournaments such as the 2023 FIBA World Cup is a huge challenge, especially for NBA players.
The next step is facing Germany and team captain Dennis Schroder (14.40 CET) in the semifinal. Moving on to either the gold or bronze medal game would potentially bring up Serbia and its respective captain Bogdan Bogdanovic.
‘Their usage rate is super high,” commented Anthony Edwards on the leaders of Germany and Serbia, “It’s exciting to play against them.”
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Praising the progress of Team USA over the offseason, the shooting guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves was eager to wrap up the tournament on a high note.
“We are ready to try and get it done,” he mentioned during team practice on Thursday.
“I think we are peaking at the right time defensively. We are putting pressure on the ball at halfcourt,” he added, “I think the main thing is us continuing to make teams play with their back to the basket from halfcourt.”
Complementing Edwards and the remaining starters, Bobby Portis is averaging 7.3 points per contest coming off the bench.
“I think that is the strength of our team, having depth,” pointed out the Chicago Bulls big, “All good teams that win have a good amount of depth.”
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