Exclusive: Niels Giffey magnanimously evades Noah Lyles' world champions comment about NBA while praising Germany teammates for win vs. USA Basketball

Niels Giffey played sparingly for Germany in their FIBA Basketball World Cup semifinal against the United States on Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Bayern Munich star played for a grand total of 53 seconds in the said showdown.

However, despite basically being the "cheerleader" on the bench, Giffey was glad that his German teammates did a splendid job in shocking Team USA, 113-111, for an assured silver and a shot at the gold on Sunday night against Serbia.

Speaking to Sportskeeda after the game, Giffey said that Germany showed heart against a Team USA made up of future NBA superstars.

Giffey said,

"We kind of believed in the fact that we could beat everybody in this tournament."

The win was also a fitting revenge for Germany as Team USA beat them 99-91 in their tune-up game in Abu Dhabi with Anthony Edwards exploding for 34 points.

Giffey said that Germany did pretty well in their FIBA Basketball World Cup buildup with the lessons they learned leading to where they are right now.

Giffey further said,

"We had a great preseason. With a loss also against Canada, they kind of showed us: 'Okay, we can beat people if we play to the best of our abilities.' We have a deep roster and a lot of talent."

However, Niels Giffey declined to comment when asked if Germany proved American trackster Noah Lyles regarding his recent statement.

In a "pipebomb" during the Athletics World Championships that drew the ire from NBA players, Lyles said,

"You know what hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong. I love the U.S. — at times — but that ain’t the world. That is not the world. We are the world."

Niels Giffey lauds Franz Wagner for showing up

Instead of reacting to Noah Lyle's statement, Niels Giffey took time to applaud the efforts of the Orlando Magic's Franz Wagner.

Wagner finished with 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in the victory, in which his offensive brilliance helped Germany open a huge lead.

Niels Giffey said,

"I'm very happy that Franz came back."

He then turned to the fans who somehow underestimated both Germany and Serbia and were already looking forward to a USA-Canada final, saying,

"We deserve a spot as a favorite."

The complete opposite of the expectations happened, that is, it's going to be the USA versus Canada for the bronze and Germany against Serbia for all the marbles.