The United States national basketball team had its final tune-up on Sunday before competing in the FIBA World Cup in 2023, and they narrowly avoided a huge scare. In the second half of their warm-up game in Abu Dhabi against Germany, Team USA found themselves losing by as much as 16 points. However, they finished the game on a powerful 22-5 run to earn a 99-91 victory and finish this warm-up series with a perfect 5-0 record.
After sailing through their first four exhibitions with relative ease, Team USA appeared to be rather slow and out of rhythm early on in the competition. Dennis Schroder was able to do anything he wanted, and Germany was able to shoot the ball well from beyond the arc. The offense, which was frequently restricted to playing in the halfcourt, was unproductive.
Late in the second quarter, the Germans took the lead for good, and late in the third quarter, a field goal by Johannes Voigtmann helped extend their advantage to as many as 16 points. However, that high point did not last long as Tyrese Haliburton and Austin Reaves led a large American run to trim the score down to four heading into the fourth quarter of the game.
After that, Anthony Edwards’ turn came around. The up-and-coming player for the Minnesota Timberwolves tied the total number of points scored by the German squad all by himself by scoring 14 of his game-high 34 points in the last period of play. His three-pointer with 5:18 left in regulation knotted the game, and his free throws and shot from mid-range a few minutes later basically iced the victory for his team.
Edwards’ outstanding showing on Sunday further cemented his position as the best player on the United States of America team. During the post-match press conference, the head coach, Steve Kerr, said that “he’s, without a doubt, the guy.” Edwards finished first in scoring for the squad in four of the five exhibition games, averaging 18.8 points per game.
The United States national team, along with Greece, Jordan, and New Zealand, has been placed in Group C for the World Cup. They will kick off their competition on August 26 in Manila, Philippines, which is also the location of all three of their group stage matches. In order to move on to the next round of the competition, they need to finish in the top two spots in their group.
The Americans are under a great deal of pressure to win the gold medal, as is the case with each big international competition; but, the stakes are far higher this summer as a result of the dismal performance they turned in at the previous World Cup. The United States of America’s performance in the event in China in 2019 was their worst-ever showing in the competition, and it marked the first time since 2002 that they had not won a medal in the competition. The United States national soccer team won the World Cup for the most recent time in 2014 and is currently tied with Yugoslavia for the most titles ever won with five.
