Germans, Serbians seek perfect ending

MANILA, Philippines — Praises had been sung about other teams’ revelation runs, bigger than expectations, and tributes had been narrated for the heartbreaks of some, after falling short of their goals.

But a riveting epic of crowning glory is yet to be read.

Today, Serbia and Germany duke it out in an all-European titular showdown with only one squad left standing to write a punctuation to the “greatest story” in the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

“We will see the greatest story today,” three-time Olympic gold medalist Carmelo Anthony of the United States said during the talk show with fellow World Cup global ambassadors Luis Scola of Argentina and Pau Gasol of Spain yesterday at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Manila.

Serbia, all without two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic considered as the world’s best player today, further solidified its stature as one of the most storied basketball countries with yet another finals appearance following a 95-86 win over Canada.

It’s the second World Cup finals appearance for the Bogdan Bogdanovic-led Serbia since 2014 in Spain, giving it a crack for another title more than 20 years in the making since its 2002 championship when the country was still under the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (with Montenegro).

Germany barged into its first-ever World Cup finale by beating the Anthoy Edwards-led Team USA, 113-111.