Germany survives, ends Latvia's fairy tale run

MANILA, Philippines – The Cinderella run of Latvia came to a conclusion after the squad fell short in a heartbreaking 81-79 loss against Germany to bow out of the FIBA World Cup medal race Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

With the game going down the wire, 81-79, following a layup by Latvia's Arturs Zagars with 33 seconds left, star guard Dennis Schroder missed a game-clinching floater with seven seconds remaining. 

Davis Bertans, who was hot all game, hauled down the rebound and ran to the other side, attempting a 3-pointer from way beyond the arc. 

His game-winning try missed, allowing Germany to escape with the victory and advance to the semifinal against USA. 

With the Germans up by just three, 62-59, heading into the fourth quarter, they pounced on Latvia, taking an 11-point lead, 70-59, following an 8-0 run. 

The run was broken by a split from the free throw line by Rolands Smits to cut the lead to 10. 

After brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner scored four straight points, Latvia fought back with a 9-0 run to cut the lead to five, 74-69, following a trey by Smits with five minutes remaining in the game. 

Schroder, who struggled the whole game, scored five straight points to keep Latvia at bay, 79-69, with less than three minutes left. 

Latvia cut the lead to two, 79-77, with an 8-0 run capped by an Arturs Zagars driving layup with 1:11 remaining. 

Daniel Theis sank both free throws with less than a minute remaining to Germany a four-point lead. Zagars once again made a layup in the next possession to make it a one-possession affair, 81-79, which set up the final stretch. 
Latvia jumped to an early 10-point lead as they put the clamps on NBA veteran Schroder, Germany's leading scorer of the tournament. 

Bu Germany found its offense in other places with Andreas Obst, Franz and Johannes Thiemann carrying the scoring load. 

Franz finished the game with 16 points while Obst had 13 markers of his own. 

Zagars had 24 points in the loss, while Bertans, who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA, finished with 20. All of the latter’s attempts from the field, except for a missed two, were 3-pointers. 

Schroder, for his part, saw his shots fall flat for most the match. He finished the game with nine points — his worst outing in the tournament — on an abysmal 4-of-26 shooting. 

Germany’s knockout semifinal against the USA is on Friday. 

Meanwhile, Latvia will be facing Italy in the classification round, which determine the tournament’s fifth to eighth seeds.