Gordon Herbert coached Germany to the world basketball championship. In the final, Germany defeated Serbia 83–77. Germany won the World Cup gold for the first time.
Finnish-Canadian Gordon Herbert coached Germany to the world basketball championship. Germany defeated Serbia in the World Cup final with a score of 83–77.
Herbert, 64, came to play in Finland in the 1980s and represented Hyvinkää Tahko, Turku NMKY, Forssa Koripoiki, Helsinki NMKY and Uudenkaupunki Korihai. Herbert played in Finland for more than a decade.
Herbert settled in Uusikaupunki and started a family there. He also received Finnish citizenship. After ending his playing career, Herbert continued to work in basketball as a coach.
He has coached in Germany, France and Russia at club level. Herbert also worked for one season in the NBA on the coaching staff of the Toronto Raptors in 2008–2009.
In addition to Germany, Herbert has coached the Georgian national team. Herbert was appointed Germany’s head coach in September 2021. He immediately led Germany to a bronze medal at the EC home games last year.
Now there was a continuation of the success. Germany won the first basketball world championship in its history.
Herbert still has a special relationship with Finland, as he still spends summers in Finland, for example.
Germany’s basketball success also has an interesting connection to Finland, because the last time Germany was in the basketball World Cup medal games was in 2002. At that time Henrik Dettmann coached Germany to World Cup bronze.
Gordon Herbert happily accepted the historic World Cup gold medal and got to celebrate with his team in the final match played in Manila, Philippines.
A behind-the-scenes video shot by the International Basketball Federation also showed how the world championship made Herbert emotional. The dramatic finale hit hard.
Herbert has two sons, Mikael and Daniel, who have played in the Korisliiga. The latter of them is also currently in the coaching staff of the German Bundesliga team Crailsheim Merlinis.
Gordon Herbert raised the world championship alongside the birth of children as a marker.
– You still can’t believe this. I’m so proud of these guys. This will take a couple of days. All I know is that tomorrow is Monday. After the birth of my children, this is second in my life. Being around these people, Herbert expressed at the press conference.
A great World Cup final
In the World Cup final, we saw fantastic basketball in all aspects.
Serbia started the World Cup final strongly, even though the team was missing what is considered to be the best player in the world at the moment Nikola Jokic as well as the best defender on European courts in recent years Vasilje Micic.
Nikola Jovic and Filip Petrusev made, among other things, handsome baskets.
After excellent defenses, Serbia was able to discipline Germany. Scored 15 points by halftime Bogdan Bogdanovic was able to nail three-point shots.
Germany’s biggest stars Franz Wagner and Dennis Schroeder however, answered the call. In the third period, Germany already had time to run away to a 13-point lead. For the first time, Serbia found itself in a losing position of more than 10 points. In the third period, Germany held Serbia to only a total of ten points.
However, Serbia still came into the game when Germany’s throwing game started to falter. At the World Cup, especially known for his terrier-like defense Aleksa Avramovic hit a few shots from beyond the three-point arc.
However, Germany’s number one name Schröder emerged again at the right moment, when he sailed a couple of seconds before the end of Corinth and stretched Germany’s lead to four points. Serbia did not rise again from that.
Germany became the world champion without losses from the same starting group where Finland also played. Germany played eight matches and won every game in this World Cup.