Fiba World Cup ambassadors Luis Scola, Pau Gasol and Carmelo Anthony sit courtside at Mall of Asia Arena.-MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Germany and Serbia may be playing in the Fiba World Cup gold medal match but the Team USA-Canada battle for bronze is the game that most Filipino fans want to see with both countries not lacking in NBA starpower.
Even Argentina legend and Fiba World Cup ambassador Luis Scola is highly intrigued by the matchup, which tips off Sunday, 4:30 p.m., at Mall of Asia Arena.
In a talk show hosted by Fiba on Saturday at Sofitel Manila, Scola said he is “very excited” to watch Team USA and Canada, the squad with the most number of NBA talents–led by Oklahoma City Thunder ace Shai Gilgeous-Alexander–outside the United States.
Team USA’s Anthony Edwards during the Fiba World Cup semifinal against Germany.-MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“I’m excited about that game and excited to see how those guys will approach that game because those are teams that were supposed to win it all and now they have to play for a medal and winning one in a World Cup is an achievement,” said Scola.
“How those guys are going to approach that game, to me, is very important so I hope to see a really good game there. They lost, that’s fine but you keep fighting.”
The Americans’ gold medal bid came to a screeching halt at the hands of Germany, which remained the lone unbeaten team in the tournament at 7-0 following a thrilling 113-111 escape on Friday.
Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
The Canadians who were also one of the favorites to win it all along with the US, also saw their hunt for the gold end with a 95-86 defeat to hot-shooting Serbia.
As for the gold medal game, Scola said he was surprised to see a finale between Germany and Serbia–two teams that had to defy the odds to get to this point of the tournament.
“I wasn’t expecting that to be the final, but I think it’s amazing. Germany’s story is amazing, also Serbia, which lost two of the best players who are not here.”
The all-European final is set at 8:30 p.m.