Canada or Slovenia? ‘Doesn’t matter’ for Serbia in Fiba World Cup semis

Serbia celebrates after defeating Lithuania to book a spot in the Fiba World Cup semifinals. -MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—Canada and Slovenia will duke it out in the 2023 Fiba World Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena and Serbia will keep a close eye on that keenly-awaited duel.

The Serbians, however, made one thing clear: It doesn’t matter which team goes in, they will give their all either way.

“We will watch the games and we’re going to wait, then we’ll see. We’re going to play against them. Doesn’t matter [who against],” said forward Vanja Marinkovic after their 87-68 win over Lithuania on Tuesday.

Serbia surprisingly made quick work of the Lithuanians in their own quarterfinal bracket by shooting an efficient 55 percent from the field.

The Serbians’ defense will also be something to watch out for in the semifinals as they tallied nine steals and forced a disciplined Lithuania side to commit 15 turnovers.

Bogdan Bogdanovic leads Serbia past Lithuania into the Fiba World Cup semifinals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

The game’s top scorer, Bogdan Bogdanovic, also said he will closely watch the other remaining teams in contention and not just Serbia’s potential semifinal foes.

“We are waiting to watch them and that’s all I got to say. We’re going to watch them and watch everyone during this tournament,” he said after scoring 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.

The Serbians have been shooting the lights out in this World Cup and Marinkovic hopes they can continue to do so until they win it all.

“Like in every game, if you make shots, you’re going to win the game. If you don’t make shots, you won’t. It’s simple.”

The Slovenians will be spearheaded by Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic while Canada, which knocked off defending champion Spain to reach the Manila leg, will be backed by OKC Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.