By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The Serbian national team kickstarted their presence in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a relatively easy win over Puerto Rico, 87-81.
Serbia’s defense was notable in the first few minutes of the game and Puerto Rico wasn’t able to break through it. 3 minutes in the game Serbia was up 6-4. The Puerto Rican team chose to attack from the perimeter, to no avail as Serbia hit the first three of the game at 4′. Barea even the score to 16 points with 2 minutes left in the first period, and the score was 21-22 after 10 minutes.
Arroyo was decisive for Puerto Rico in the second period, as his own performance gave energy to the team. The experienced guard knew how to make things easier for his opponents. Soon, though, Bogdanovic and Teodosic took charge, giving Serbia a 41-31 lead at halftime.
After the break, Serbia started to build a double digit lead, which left no chances for a comeback to Puerto Rico. Bogdanovic kept his team ahead with long distance shots, and the score rested at 69-51 after 30 minutes.
The final period was storming for Serbia for the first 7 minutes at least. Puerto Rico took advantage of Serbia’s certainty and showed signs of a possible comeback in the final period, when they managed to drop the deficit with under 3 minutes left. However, they didn’t manage to complete it.
Nedovic lead Serbia to this stunning win with 14 points, while Holland scored 21 for Puerto Rico.