Surging Serbia ends dominant Group B campaign with rout of South Sudan

Serbia’s Bogdan Bogdanovic. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Serbia continued to fire on all cylinders, making easy work of South Sudan, 115-83, to sweep Group B in the 2023 Fiba World Cup at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

The Serbians shot a blistering 62 percent clip from the field, including 17-of-32 from the three-point area.

“Serbia is a country where you shoot. We shoot, we know how to shoot, especially when you have 12 guys who can shoot,” said Serbia guard Vanja Marinkovic.

“I think we managed to play three good games against tough teams especially against South Sudan which is physically ready and a very good team.”

Miami Heat’s Nikola Jovic sustained his form and finished with 25 points two nights after posting 17 in a 94-77 rout of Puerto Rico two nights ago while his brother Stefan dished out 13 assists with four points, six rebounds and two steals.

Serbia’s Nikola Jovic. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Atlanta Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanovic was also in his element with 23 points while Nikola Milutinov notched a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Serbia established its dominance early with a 10-point lead, 30-20, and never looked back.

“Now we have to play against Italy, we have to rest, keep our minds sharp, body ready and play a good game,” Marinkovic said of Serbia’s opponent in the second round.

Nuni Omot topscored for South Sudan (1-2) with 17. Dut Jok Kacuol topscored for South Sudan with 21 points while Nuni Omot and Marial Shayok added 17 and 12 points, respectively.