MVP Dennis Schroder leads FIBA World Cup honor list as guards dominate All-Tournament Team
MANILA, Philippines – Dennis Schroder delivered when it counted the most for Germany.
Schroder crowned himself the Most Valuable Player of the FIBA World Cup after guiding Germany to a historic championship at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, September 10.
Taking over in the finale, the gutsy point guard finished with game-high 28 points on top of 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal as Germany completed its perfect run with an 83-77 win over Serbia.
He finished the tournament with averages of 19.1 points, 6.1 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1.4 steals to banner an All-Tournament Team that unusually featured five guards.
Joining Schroder in the list were Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic, Canada’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, USA’s Anthony Edwards, and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic.
Bogdanovic (19.1 points, 4.6 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 2.1 steals) led Serbia to its second silver in three editions, while Gilgeous-Alexander (24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.6 steals) powered Canada to a breakthrough bronze.
Edwards put up 18.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.1 steal for fourth-placer USA, while Doncic normed 27 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.1 assists, and 2.5 steals for seventh-placer Slovenia.
Germany’s Franz Wagner, Lithuania’s Jonas Valanciunas, Serbia’s Nikola Milutinov, Latvia’s Arturs Zagars, and Italy’s Simone Fontecchio made up the All-Second Team.
Although he showed off his offensive prowess in the Canadians’ bronze-medal win over the Americans, Dillon Brooks emerged as the Best Defensive Player of the tournament.
Luca Banchi bagged the Best Coach award after steering overachieving Latvia – the only team out of four World Cup debutants to reach the final phase – to fifth place.
Australia’s Josh Giddey clinched the Rising Star honors. – Rappler.com