By Aris Barkas / info@eurohoops.net
LILLE, France – There wasn’t any doubt, even after the defeat by Team USA, but Serbia proved once again that they are medal contenders by destroying Puerto Rico.
The Serbs were firing at all cylinders and the final 107-66 proves it. It was an easy night for the eventual winners who got a 52-30 advantage just before the end of the first half (52-35) and never felt any pressure.
Thanks to this result Serbia got a 1-1 record, however to qualify in the second spot of Group C they need to beat South Sudan in their last game of group play.
“We must eliminate their ambitions early on, they have more motivation than any other team in this tournament”, said coach Svetislav Pesic about the upcoming clash with the African team.
The Serbs will not underestimate them and as Pesic added there’s a good reason for that: We played against them in the recent FIBA World Cup, and they have great improvement, they are very athletic, good in transition, much better defense than Puerto Rico and we must be ready”.
Almost a triple-double by Jokic
Nikola Jokic just missed the triple-double with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and nine assists, Filip Petrusev (photo) scored 15 of his 16 points in the first half and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 13 for the winning side.
There was no way that Serbia could be denied, with the lead jumping to 28 points (72-44) after 27 minutes of action.
The Serbs finally got a 30-point advantage with a layup by Nikola Milutinov to start the last period (81-51) and stretched it to 37 points (94-57).
Serbian domination
Chris Ortiz with 19 points was the top scorer of Puerto Rico, scoring 13 of them in the first half. No other player from the losing side scored in double digits.
“If our team is concentrated and we bring this kind of energy, it’s very difficult to play against us”, explained coach Pesic, “even Puerto Rico which has a great perimeter with Waters and Alvarado and we managed to keep them off the game. After that, it’s easier for us because we have individual talent on offense, but our focus should also be good defense”.
To be exact, Jose Alvarado finished the game with two points on 1/6 FG and Tremont Waters had five on 2/7 FG.
Photo credit: FIBA