US loss to Germany an upset, says Carmelo Anthony

MANILA, Philippines — Decorated Team USA athlete and 2023 FIBA World Cup global ambassador Carmelo Anthony did not mince words when describing USA’s semifinal loss to Germany in the semifinals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday night.

Anthony, who was present court side when the Team USA side fell to finals first-timers Germany, admitted that anything else less than a gold was something below standard.

“It is an upset, let’s just be quite frank,” said Anthony during an ambassadors talk show at Sofitel on Saturday. 

“We don’t want to sugarcoat it, it’s an upset. When you have that gold standard, that’s what we’re reaching [for], that’s our goal, so anything other than that is an upset, right? So I don’t want nobody to kind of sugarcoat that,” he added.

Though set for a better finish than their seveth place result in China back in 2019, the USA had their sights set on a redemption bid and reclaim the World Cup trophy for the first time since 2014.

With that dream dashed, Anthony made sure to credit Germany and Serbia for gutting it out against favorites to reach the championship match.

And even without his team in the final, the three-time Olympic gold medalist said it’s the way to go to grow the game.

“The USA was an upset, you gotta tip your hat off to Serbia, those guys had a hell of a game, Germany had a hell of a game so, those are upsets. Let’s accept that, that’s good for the sport,” he said. 

“That’s good for this, for FIBA, for basketball, for the fans, to let everybody now that the rest of the world is here to play and now everybody has to think differently on the approach to try to win a gold medal,” he continued.

With Team USA now looking more vulnerable than ever, the 39-year-old is accepting the fact that the world is simply catching up.

“It is what it is, I mean, guys are getting better, the game is growing globally,” he said.

Still, Anthony and the rest of Team USA can look forward to finishing on a high note when they face neighbors Canada in the battle for bronze match at MOA Arena on Sunday.