LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - Germany achieved the greatest accomplishment in their country's youth basketball history by reaching the Final of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 and reaching the podium for the first time.
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Germany used a big second quarter to register a 72-84 victory in the Semi-Finals. Christian Anderson was just too much as the German point guard scored 27 points while big man Hannes Steinbach collected 14 points, 16 rebounds, 2 blocks for an efficiency rating of 30.
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It was another win for the Germans against Slovenia, who actually held a 13-point lead in the opening game of the tournament. Germany came back to win 75-68 and stopped Slovenia from getting redemption after losing to Germany in the Semi-Finals of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024.
The Germans last summer claimed the trophy at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket - the country's proudest achievement at the youth level. That is until Saturday night in Lausanne.
Germany temporarily took an eight-point lead in the opening frame but led by just two points after 10 minutes. And Slovenia knotted the game early in the second quarter only to see Germany answer with 12 straight points and extend the lead to 14 points at halftime 45-31.
The advantage was as high as 18 points in the third stanza but Slovenia made a bit of a push and were down just 57-49 after 30 minutes. The cushion was down to just six points before Germany had the next eight points to extend the lead to 65-51.
Slovenia tried to get closer - trimming it to 10 points multiple times - but German captain Jack Kayil drained back to back three-pointers and the U18 European champs had regained control.
"We are all super happy but on the other hand we all know there is one more game. That is the reason we came here: to play against the best and go as far as we can," said Kayil, who is the German captain. "We showed last summer that we can also win a Final."
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
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The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
The best photos from the game
Germany's opponent in the Final will be determined after the second Semi-Final game between USA and New Zealand.
Slovenia, who got 23 points from Mark Padjen, will look to bounce back and faces the loser of the USA-New Zealand matchup for third place.
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