SERBIA put a lid on the hotly contested race to the quarterfinals in the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament as it sealed the second-spot in Group C following a 96-85 win over South Sudan on Saturday night (Sunday morning PHT) at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, France.
After a quiet first two games in the Olympics, Bogdan Bogdanovic finally broke out of his shell as he drained 30 points on 6-9 shooting from downtown, besting his total output of 27 in his first two games combined.
The Atlanta Hawks marksman also showed off his playmaking, adding eight assists to his name while staying active on the defensive end as well with two blocks and two steals as the Europeans formalized their spot in the quarterfinals, joining Team USA as the two teams to push through from Group C in the next phase.
By beating South Sudan by 11, Serbia also gave a free ride to Greece and Brazil as the two squads went through by virtue of being the two best third-placers in the tournament.
The African team would’ve advanced with a win, or even with a one point loss.
It was a back and forth affair between the two squads, with both trading runs up until early in the fourth when the Serbians finally broke away for good.
Bogdanovic ignited a 19-3 rally as he drained two three-pointers to turn a precarious 72-71 lead to a commanding 91-74 lead in a dizzying seven-minute stretch to finally take the fight away from South Sudan for good.
Nikola Jokic added 22 points, 13 rebounds and four assists while Vasilije Micic added 15 points, seven boards and seven assists for the Serbians who may have just played their best basketball in the tournament, peaking at the right time for the playoffs.
As a team, Serbia shot 60 percent from the field while also shooting a healthy 52 percent (11-21) from beyond the arc. That type of efficiency can be attributed to Serbia’s unselfish ways as of the 32 made baskets they had in this game, 31 came from assists.
Carlik Jones played the full 40 minutes for South Sudan and he delivered with 17 points, 10 assists and four steals while Marial Shayok also chipped in 17.
While their campaign in Paris ended in the group stage, the team backed by former NBA star Luol Deng will have plenty to be proud of after their inspiring run to the pinnacle sporting stage which started with a solid performance in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The boys of coach Royal Ivey put the world on notice by pushing the United States in their tune-up, and that performance translated well in Paris as they got a blowout victory over Puerto Rico in the first ever Olympics basketball game of the 13-year-old country.
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