Germans escape past Latvians

MANILA, Philippines — Dennis Schroder’s shooting turned sour at a crucial time in the FIBA World Cup.  But no worries, the Wagner brothers and the rest of his German crew got it covered.

Franz and Moe Wagner combined for 28 points, Johannes Thiemann shot a perfect 10 and Daniel Theis netted nine spiked by the insurance freebies as Germany survived Schroder’s 4-of-26 struggles and Latvia’s upset bid, 81-79, to earn a semifinal date with a waiting USA team yesterday at the MOA Arena.

The Americans had already advanced after an emphatic 100-63 thrashing of Italy in Tuesday’s quarterfinal opener.

The Wagners, who are also teammates with the Orlando Magic in the NBA, weaved their magic in a 12-1 salvo as “Die Manuschaft” seized control of the back-and-forth quarterfinal dispute, 74-60.

Toronto star Schroder’s five-point surge late kept Germany at a comfortable 79-69 stand but Latvia fought back hard and made it a two-point contest on Arturs Zagars’ crafty reverse layup.

Theis, an Indiana Pacers forward, gave Germany more breathing space, 81-77, on a pair of charities with 49.4 seconds left. Zagars, though, quickly countered with a layup and after forcing Schroder to miss his 26th attempt, Latvia’s NBA player Davis Bertans tried to steal it with a three-pointer that just hit the front rim.

NBA-loaded Canada ruined “Luka Magic” night in Manila, dealing crowd darling Luka Doncic and his Slovenian team a 100-89 heartbreaker in their explosive duel for a Last-4 seat.

Amid non-stop cheers from the 11,710-strong pro-Doncic crowd and boos for Dillon Brooks, the Canadians went about business with efficiency, overpowered the Slovenians and earned their ticket to the next round against Serbia.

“It wasn’t a pretty win. There was a stinker on the offensive end but I thought our bench was outstanding for the third or fourth game in a row,” said coach Gordie Herbert.

The Germans drew 44 points from their backup unit as Schroder bled for nine markers. The ace playmaker should regain his touch against the Americans tomorrow.

“I have no doubt he’ll bounce back. Adversity builds strength. He obviously had a tough day (missing) layups, open shots. But he’s a super tough kid, very competitive,” said Herbert.