Germany won the Basketball World Cup for the first time by beating Serbia – who were missing talisman Nikola Jokic – 83-77 in Manila.

It is their first title since winning the European Championship in 1993.

Dennis Schroder top scored for the Germans with 28 points, while Franz Wagner contributed 19.

Canada took third place with a 127-118 win against the United States, who Germany knocked out in the semi-finals earlier in the day.

Jokic opted to sit the tournament out in order to rest having helped the Denver Nuggets to the NBA crown last season.

There was a difficult start to the match for Serbia, who were seeking their first win as an independent nation, when Ognjen Dobric was carried off through injury just three minutes in.

At the halfway point the scores were level at 47-47 but the match swung in Germany’s favour in the third quarter as they outscored their opponents 22-10.

But Serbia kept going and reduced the deficit to just three points in the final minute, but a lay-up by Schroder and a missed three pointer from Aleksa Avramovic gave Germany victory.