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There Will Be No Gold for the USA at the Basketball World Cup, after 113-111 Loss to Germany

Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Semi Final - United States v Germany - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 8, 2023 Germany's Andreas Obst celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Semi Final - United States v Germany - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 8, 2023 Germany's Andreas Obst celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
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There Will Be No Gold for the USA at the Basketball World Cup, after 113-111 Loss to Germany

Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Semi Final - United States v Germany - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 8, 2023 Germany's Andreas Obst celebrates after the match. (Reuters)
Basketball - FIBA World Cup 2023 - Semi Final - United States v Germany - Mall of Asia Arena, Manila, Philippines - September 8, 2023 Germany's Andreas Obst celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

There will be no gold medal for the US at this World Cup. And for the second consecutive time in FIBA’s biggest tournament, there might not be any medal at all for the Americans.

Instead, it’s Germany on the cusp of a world title.

Andreas Obst scored 24 points, Franz Wagner added 22 and Germany shredded the US defense for much of the way in its first win over the Americans — 113-111 in the World Cup semifinals on Friday night.

Obst hit the shot of the night, a 3-pointer with 1:15 left to put Germany up by four and just about snuff out a last-ditch US rally. Germany led for 30 of the game's 40 minutes, the US led for about 4 1/2, and there was little question who was controlling play much of the way.

“We knew the task at hand, and that was to go win,” US guard Austin Reaves said. “And we didn't do that.”

The US, down by 10 midway through the fourth, nearly pulled off a comeback, getting within one point on two separate occasions in the final minutes. But the Americans never got the lead, and it was the Germans jumping and hugging as time expired.

Germany — the last unbeaten team left in the tournament at 7-0 — will play Serbia on Sunday (8:40 a.m. EDT) for the World Cup title. Serbia beat Canada in the first semifinal, getting to its second World Cup final in the last three tournaments; it lost 129-92 to the US in the 2014 championship game.

Canada will play the US for bronze Sunday (4:40 a.m. EDT).

Anthony Edwards scored 23 points for the US (5-2), which got 21 from Reaves, 17 from Mikal Bridges and 15 from Jalen Brunson. The Americans shot 58% — but let Germany shoot 58% as well, and that was the ultimate undoing.

“If you give up 113 points in a 40-minute game, you're not going to win many of those,” Reaves said.

Germany had been 0-6 against the Americans in World Cup or Olympic competition, usually getting blown out in those games.

Not this time. Once again, even bringing the only roster filled with all NBA players wasn’t enough for the US at the World Cup. The Americans finished seventh at the 2019 World Cup in China; this finish — third or fourth — will technically be better, but nothing other than gold was going to be satisfactory for USA Basketball.

Daniel Theis had 21 points for Germany. Theis has scored 21 or more points six times in his NBA career — and picked Friday for one of the games of his life.

A 35-24 third quarter was basically the difference for Germany, which this time finished the job that it couldn't pull off when meeting the Americans in Abu Dhabi for an exhibition earlier this summer. Germany led that game by 16 in the second half, then an 18-0 run by the Americans down the stretch led to a 99-91 US win.

It needed similar heroics this time. They almost got there. Key word: almost. This time, Germany finished it off. And when it was over, Reaves couldn't help but see Schroder — his former teammate with the Los Angeles Lakers — revel in a huge moment for German basketball.

“Tip your hat to him,” Reaves said. “I know how special this moment is for him.”

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2 Sailors Die in the Stormy First Night of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Organizers Say

Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
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2 Sailors Die in the Stormy First Night of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, Organizers Say

Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)
Spectators at North Head watch yachts compete during the start of the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race on Boxing Day at Sydney Harbor on December 26, 2024. (AFP)

Two sailors on separate boats have been killed in boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the annual Sydney to Hobart race, adding to the event's long history of deaths at sea.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney, which administers the yacht race, said Friday that one sailor each on entrants Flying Fish Arctos and Bowline were killed after being struck by the boom, a large horizontal pole at the bottom of the sail.

New South Wales Police Superintendent Joe McNulty identified the two dead sailors as a 55-year-old man from Western Australia (on Flying Fish Arctos) and a 65-year-old man from South Australia (on Bowline).

He said the crews on both boats, which had been seized by police for evidence, were "doing it pretty tough at the moment."

"We’ve got police getting talking to them, doctors and counselling. They’re assisting with our inquiries. They are shaken up by what they’ve seen ... and they didn’t give up."

Officials later said a sailor was washed overboard on another boat, but was rescued. That crew member was from Hobart yacht Porco Rosso, and he drifted a kilometer from the yacht before being rescued.

The incident triggered the crew member’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon, a safety device that must be worn by all sailors in the race.

"That is one of the most terrifying experiences that you can have," said David Jacobs, vice-commodore of the CYCA. "(And) it was at night, which makes it tenfold more scary."

The deaths come 26 years after six sailors were killed in storms during the 1998 running of the race, which triggered a state coronial inquest and mass reforms to the safety protocols — including the radio beacon on all sailors — that govern the race. There have been 13 fatalities in the 79-year history of the race, with four of those deaths resulting from sailor heart attacks.

The fleet was continuing its passage to Constitution Dock in Hobart, Tasmania, with the first boats expected to arrive early Saturday morning. The race is 628 nautical miles (722 miles, 1,160 kilometers) long.

Jacobs reiterated the race would "absolutely" continue.

"The conditions are challenging, but they’re not excessive," he said. "So we’ve got sort of winds at about 25 knots coming from the north seas around about two meters or thereabouts, so the conditions that most of the sailors would normally easily handle."

"The sailing community is a very close community. There’s about a thousand sailors on the water in this race, and to lose two in this fashion is just devastating."

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the sailors who died.

"We have sadly awoken to tragedy in the Sydney to Hobart with the awful news that two sailors have lost their lives," he said. "Our thoughts are with the crews, their families and loved ones at this deeply sad time."

The incident aboard Flying Fish Arctos occurred around 30 nautical miles east-southeast of Ulladulla on the New South Wales south coast. Crew members attempted CPR but could not revive their teammate.

The crew member aboard Bowline was struck approximately 30 nautical miles east/north-east of Batemans Bay and fell unconscious, with CPR also unsuccessful.

"As these incidents are being dealt with by the Water Police and all family members are yet to be contacted, we cannot provide further details at this stage," the CYCA said in a statement. "Our thoughts are with the crews, family and friends of the deceased."

The first all-Filipino crew of 15 sailors was entered in the 2024 race, but was among the retirements because of the weather. With veteran sailor Ernesto Echauz at the helm, Centennial 7 was one of six international entrants and includes sailors from the Philippines’ national team and the Philippines navy.

Last year, LawConnect won line honors after holding off defending champion Comanche by less than a minute in an exciting finish between the super maxis. LawConnect, which was runner-up in the last three editions of the race, finished in 1 day, 19 hours, 3 minutes, 58 seconds. Comanche’s time was 1 day, 19 hours, 4 minutes, 49 seconds — a margin of just 51 seconds.

Comanche, which was among the retirements in this year's race, holds the race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set when it won in 2017.

Nearly 26 hours into the race, 85 entrants were still sailing and 19 yachts had retired at sea or in port.

LawConnect, which led out of Sydney Harbor on Thursday, was ahead in the race but still had about 150 nautical miles before reaching Hobart. It could mean an overnight finish for the leading yachts early Saturday. Celestial V70 was in second place, about 20 nautical miles behind LawConnect.