By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – After dropping a game vs. Italy, Serbia got the job done against the Dominican Republic in a crucial game. Serbia dominated for 40 minutes and at the end got a big 112-79 win,
Right from the jump ball, it was obvious that Serbia had a perfect game plan and enough energy to get the job done in the first quarter.
Bogdan Bogdanovic was on fire, scoring at will while Srbia jumped out with a 29-15 lead after 10 minutes.
After that, the Dominican Republic had no chance of fighting back and never managed to get into sticking distance.
Bogdanovic scored in total 20 points, and Vanja Marinkovic and Nikola Milutinov added 16 each.
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On the other side, NBA star Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 points, but it was not enough for a win.
Serbia will play in the quarterfinals against the USA or Lithuania, depending on the result of the game between them.
“Thank you to coach, he has been doing an amazing job all tournament. He teaches us how to compete, it was an amazing time being here in Manila. We definitely showed the world how we are, I’m excited for what the future holds for us. Blessed for this opportunity”, Lester Quinones said. “The pain is too much, but I’m very proud of my players. They did everything for people back in the country. It was an amazing experience, how the people here treated us”, Coach Garcia added.
“I think we played a really good game from the start, we kept on putting the pressure on their main players, that was a key to our win”, Vanja Marinkovic said in the post-game press conference. “Very difficult game for us, because to play a team like the Dominican Republic is tough. It was important to show a reaction after the last game. The team reacted excellently, limiting first Feliz”, coach Svetislav Pesic also commented.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup