By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – The USA is two wins away from the gold and their next opponent might be their biggest challenge yet.
They face Germany (14.40 CET) in the semifinal and coach Steve Kerr knows very well that this is going to be a strong opponent.
According to Kerr, his team must deliver: “Playing at a high level, playing with a lot of force and aggression like the other night that’s what it’s going to take to beat Germany. They’re really good, and they’ve probably been the best team in the tournament I don’t think they’ve lost anything yet. They’re connected, really well-coached, they have continuity and a very strong team physical team”.
The fact that Franz Wagner was injured but came back just in time for the quarterfinals doesn’t change much for the US.
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There’s maybe not enough film for him from the World Cup, but he is an established NBA player and Kerr knows pretty much what to expect.
“We got lots of film from the last two years so I mean we know how good he is, how versatile he is and he played very, very well last night against Latvia”, said Kerr. “We know his game, our guys know him and you know we know we have to be prepared and ready for him and for their whole team because he’s is really, really good’.
And while Germany has a young NBA star, the same can be said for many US team players, especially about Anthony Edwards and Kerr expects big things from him: “I think you know he’s one of the most talented players on Earth, you know he’s still very young. So, it’s a big challenge and I’ve talked to him about this the challenge which is to figure out when to attack, when to make the pass and we’re going to need both. Last time we played Germany, we completely took over the game but as you saw the other night when we threw the ball ahead whether it’s him or anybody else we’re really, really good”.
After all, Team USA may have some extra inspiration after visiting the US cemetery of Manila from the Second World War.
“That was a great experience to see the military cemetery with the whole team, with all the family members who are here in town with us, to see and learn more about it”, explained Kerr, “and that, of course, gives a lot of emotions, see that many graves have maybe young lives lost. It was really powerful and I know our team appreciated it”.