BOBAN Marjanovic towered over the competition and led Serbia to a 94-76 victory over Dominican Republic to raise the curtains in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament Belgrade on Tuesday at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall (Wednesday, Manila time).
The Dallas Mavericks center was untouchable as he posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds as Serbia inched closer to a semifinal berth.
The supporting crew did the damage late which allowed the Serbians to get away from the Dominicana.
Serbia unleashed a 16-4 finishing kick to break away from a close 78-72 affair with 6:02 remaining and cruise to the 18-point win.
Filip Petrusev chipped in 17 points on an efficient 7-of-9 clip from the field, to go with three rebounds, while Euroleague MVP Vasilije Micic added 16 points, five assists, and four boards.
Nemanja Bjelica went 2-of-5 from deep, finishing with 12 points, six rebounds, and three blocks, Ognjen Dobric scored five of his seven points in that killer run, while Milos Teodosic tallied six points and six assists.
Coach Igor Kokoskov also drew a solid performance from Nikola Kalinic, who registered nine points, seven boards, and five assists, as the world No. 5 survived the game despite only going 6-of-19 from rainbow country.
SERBIA GEARS UP FOR GILAS PILIPINAS
Serbia can seal the top spot in Group A when it takes on Gilas Pilipinas.
Victor Liz led the Dominican Republic with 16 points and nine rebounds in a game where his side shot 12-of-36 from deep before unraveling in the endgame.
Michael Torres Cuevas also scored 16 points on 3-of-6 shooting from threes, on top of five assists and four boards, while Gelvis Solano had 10 points and four assists.
Dominican Republic takes a day break before facing the Philippines in what could be a fight for the second spot of the group.
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