Germany 'believers' hit goals with FIBA World Cup conquest
MANILA, Philippines – Going into the FIBA World Cup, Germany had two goals — win the gold medal and make the Olympics.
With the gold medal glistening around his neck, Isaac Bonga said they can comfortably check both boxes now.
Speaking to reporters after their 83-77, gold medal-clinchhing triumph over Serbia, Bonga was at a loss of words to describe what he was feeling.
“I can’t put everything into words. It is amazing, surreal. It is like, I can say so many things right now, but it is crazy,” the forward said.
“We had a couple goals. One of the goals was to win gold and make it to the Olympics. Now, we’re gonna put checks on both of those goals. Crazy,” he added.
For his part, Moritz Wagner said that Germany’s win is “not a miracle.”
“I wouldn’t say this is a miracle. It’s hard work. It’s full of belief. You gotta do it with belief,” Wagner told reporters in a separate interview.
“Dennis and I were talking saying it’s crazy how much you can do with your belief. Express that and it’s really cool to do this with all these guys,” he added.
Germany’s gold medal finish happened in their first FIBA World Cup final.
They went undefeated in the whole tournament, powering through Latvia and the USA before facing Serbia in the finals.
After leading by as much as 12 points, Germany’s lead went down to just two, 79-77, with 39 seconds remaining.
But Dennis Schroder, Germany’s leader throughout the tournament, made key plays to keep their distance.
Schroder’s 28-point performance is hardly a surprise, Bonga underscored.
“To be honest, I am not really surprised by what he did today. He just… He’s Dennis. We all know he’s an amazing superstar and he’s a great player,” Bonga, who scored seven points in the game, said.
“What he did today is just like another day in the office,” he added.
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