REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, PASAY CITY – Serbia can finally participate in the showpiece match of the FIBA Basketball World Cup again. The team composed of Stevislac Pesic has the right to qualify for the final FIBA World Cup 2023 after stopping Canada in the semi-final with 95-86, Friday evening (9/8/2023).
It was Serbia’s first success in participating in the final again Basketball World Cup This was after finishing in fifth place in the previous edition, the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Moreover, this success also repeated a similar feat achieved by Serbia during the 2014 FIBA World Cup.
Facing Canada, dotted with stars and reinforced by numerous NBA players, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Manila, Serbia immediately relied on its physical strength and pressing strict. This strategy also paid off. Serbia closed the first quarter with a 23-15 lead.
Serbia implemented a similar strategy in the second quarter. Canadian star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander seemed to struggle to find his best performance in this match and only scored a total of 15 points. On the other hand, the Serbian star, Bogdan Bogdanovic, was very impressive throughout this match. Serbia closed the first half with a 13-point lead, 52-39.
One of the keys to Serbia’s victory in this game was their success in maximizing turnovers after breaking down Canada’s attack. At the end of the third quarter, two three-pointers put Serbia away from Canada. This dynamic continued in the fourth quarter.
Serbia even recorded a 17-point lead at the start of the fourth quarter. Canada couldn’t do much even though it managed to close the fourth quarter with a 20-23 lead. Serbia was able to finish the match with a victory, 95-86.
According to statistics, Serbia dominates Canada. Serbia managed to shoot 27 of 38 two-point attempts with a success rate of 71.1 percent.
It seems that Bogdanovic’s impressive performance cannot be separated from Serbia’s victory in this match. shooting guard The Atlanta Hawks were the top scorers in this game with a score of 23 points, 4 bounce3 helpand 3 fly. Bogdanovic managed to score eight times from 12 shooting opportunities.
The 31-year-old basketball player couldn’t hide his joy after leading Serbia to the FIBA World Cup 2023 final. “I am very tired, but so happy. We were able to win against such an extraordinary team, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The final match will be a very difficult match. At the moment we cannot perform calculations. However, we will be ready,” Bogdanovic said as reported by Olympics.com, Friday (8/9/2023).
Regarding the opponents of the final match of the FIBA World Cup 2023, Serbia still has to wait for the results of the other semi-final, namely the match between the United States and Germany. It is not impossible that Serbia will face the United States again in the final of the 2023 FIBA World Cup.
The match will be a repeat of the 2014 FIBA World Cup final. At that time, Serbia had to recognize the superiority of the United States, 92-129, and had to be content with winning the silver medal. The FIBA World Cup 2023 final is scheduled to take place at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday (9/10/2023) local time.
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