Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic in the Fiba World Cup game at Smart Araneta Coliseum. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines — Serbia blasted China, 105-63, to jumpstart its Group B campaign in the Fiba World Cup 2023 on Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Serbians with 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists in just 22 minutes of action to silence the Chinese-dominated 10,978 crowd at the Big Dome with China’s naturalized NBA player Kyle Anderson going scoreless in his World Cup debut.
Bogdanovic joined hands with Aleksa Avramovic, who scored all of his 10 points in the third quarter, to pull away with a 30-point lead to start the second half and put away the match even before it ended.
“We are happy that we won the game in the end. That’s what is most important. The first games are always tough and difficult but we have many great guys. It’s gonna harder but easier on condition-wise,” Bogdanovic said after starting his third World Cup with a win.
“This is how we play. I like the way we played especially the young guys, they bring a lot of energy. I’m happy how we played but this is just the first game,” he added.
Vanja Markinovic fired four three-pointers to also finish with 14 points as Serbia’s second stringers showed no mercy in the payoff period, ending the game with an 18-0 run to win by 42 points.
Dusan Ristic was 4-of-4 from the three-point line to contribute 13 points on top of six rebounds only playing late in the third until the final whistle, while Nikola Milutinov posted 11 markers and six boards to join Puerto Rico for the early lead in Group B.
Despite the blowout win, Bogdanovic braces for Serbia’s next match against South Sudan, which lost to Puerto Rico in overtime, 101-96, earlier.
“We know that this is the first World Cup of South Sudan but they came with a lot of players that can really play. And also Puerto Rico has always been tough in the World Cup. They know how to play the game,” said Bogdanovic, who eyes to qualify in the Olympics next year and win a medal in this year’s global competition.
Anderson missed all of his nine shots and only chipped in four rebounds and four assists as he was a minus 35 in 25 minutes of action. Zhao Rui led the Chinese with 17 points, while Zhou Qi had 12 points and five rebounds in the loss.
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