Austin Reaves admits Team USA showing just ‘not good enough’
Team USA’s Austin Reaves reacts after the Americans lose their semifinal match to Germany. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Austin Reaves admitted Team USA’s showing just was not “good enough” as the Americans failed to catch a trip to the Fiba World Cup final for the second straight edition.
Team USA needed a torrid run in the fourth quarter to try and overcome the undefeated Germans. Reaves and Anthony Edwards responded with a combined 17 points and trimmed the 12-point deficit to keep Germany within two.
But Andreas Obst and Dennis Schroder made the timely baskets that snuffed the life out of Team USA’s bid to get back into the final as Germany advanced after a 113-111 win.
“Not good enough. We lost. That’s the moral of the day. We lost, it’s not good enough,” Reaves told reporters after the tough loss, which relegated them to the bronze medal match against Canada.
“It’s super tough. We knew the task at hand, that was to go win, and we didn’t do that,” he added.
Austin Reaves and Team USA during the Fiba World Cup semifinal game against Germany. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The Los Angeles Lakers rising star unleashed his best game of the tournament with 21 points on 3-of-5 three-point shooting only for Team USA, whose roster is filled with rising NBA stars, to botch its comeback.
Reaves lamented how they were basically outplayed in every department–especially on rebounding and defense–as the Germans scored 25 second-chance points.
“You just named it [rebounding and defense]. You all watched the same game I played. You give up 113 points in a 40-minute game, you’re not going to win many of those, so…defense,” he said.
It may have been a frustrating night for Reaves, but he has no time to sulk as they try to get a bronze before leaving Manila when they battle Canada, which lost to the final-bound Serbia earlier, on Sunday afternoon.
“Obviously, we didn’t come to do what we wanted to do. Anytime you’re a competitor, I know the bunch of guys we got in the locker room will come out and compete to win that game, even though it’s not where we want to be,” Reaves said.
Austin Reaves after Team USA’s loss to Germany in the #FIBAWC semifinal.
Posted by Inquirer Sports on Friday, September 8, 2023
