Upset alert: Belgium lock down Serbia for second success

MONS (Belgium) - In the battle to finish the first window with a 2-0 record, it was Belgium who prevailed to overcome Serbia in a 73-69 victory for a perfect start to their FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers campaign.

Sam Van Rossom stepped up to drain the go-ahead triple inside the final minute and added a late free throw to ice the game as Belgium produced a final flourish to take early control of Group A as the leaders.

Turning point: Serbia were in the ascendancy early on and moved 36-22 ahead in the second quarter and were still ahead by double-digits late in the third. There was a brief delay before the start of the fourth and Belgium resumed reinvigorated with a 12-2 start to take the lead and they would come through an exciting finish.

Game heroes: Ismael Bako starred for the Belgian Lions with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals in an action-packed display, while Sam Van Rossom top scored with 20 points and was clutch in the closing minutes to help secure the victory.

Stats don't lie: Serbia finished 57 percent from inside the arc, but their struggles from outside amplified in the final quarter as they missed all nine attempts from three-point range and were held to 3-of-15 overall in the fourth.

Bottom line: Two from two for Belgium is the dream opening, while Serbia were on the wrong end of another close encounter to finish the November window at 1-1. They will face a double-header against Slovakia in February 2022, while Belgium take on Latvia in a pivotal two games.

They said: "Fist of all congratulations to the Belgian national team and coach Djerdja. I think they deserved this victory. For most of the time it looked like we controlled this game but we made 10 turnovers and our opponents got back into the game and found their confidence. I knew Belgium would come back after the break with more focus, more energy, and more aggressive defense and we let the Belgian players build their confidence. This is one qualification game, so we lost tonight and we must learn from this and come back for the next window. Players must understand how it is to play for the national team, the competition system and that in every game we must control our offense better and control the ball. We can see that every game is very difficult to win, and for me it's important after these first two games that I have a better picture about this team. We have talented guys who fight for the national team and for their teammates, and I think that's important for the future." - Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic

"The key was that we kept believing for 40 minutes. During the first three quarters we had problems to stop their pick and roll offense with Teodosic and Avramocic. In the last five-six minutes the fact that we were not in the bonus was very important and allowed us to play more aggressively and come back. We are very happy with the win. Being down 12 at the half, we said in the locker room that we will have to fight for 20 minutes to come back, because against Serbia you cannot turn it around in a couple of minutes. This is only a first step, there is still a long way, but this first window has been a big success for us." - Belgium captain Sam Van Rossom

"I am happy for the guys and for an amazing second half performance. Our idea was to stay close, we knew that we would have some problems especially the way Teodosic opened the game with his three-pointers. In the first half we missed some shots and we also didn't adapt to their defense well. When you play against a team like Serbia they punish everything. We found the right momentum and finished with the right five guys on the floor. This victory is really a big one because Serbia in my eyes is a top-three team in Europe, there's no discussion about it. I just told Teodosic "I hope you play until you are 50". The way he played is amazing. I also want to say two things about Stevan Jelovac, the Serbian player of AEK who suffered a stroke, and is now fighting for his life. I hope he gets better and he recovers, with all my heart, also on behalf of my team." - Belgium head coach Dario Gjergja

FIBA