LILLE (France) - Serbia produced one of their best performances in recent memory to take down China 81-59 at the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 and wrap up a place in the next phase of the competition.
Chasing a third straight Semi-Finals appearance, that prospect came closer into view with this victory and highly impressive display against a China team yet to post a win in Lille. In fact, it was Serbia's biggest ever Olympic victory.
Turning point
Either side of the half-time break, Serbia found a new gear and started to move out of sight. A 23-10 run across the interval put them in the ascendancy and from that point onward, China never looked like having the energy or form to launch any kind of rescue mission.
Game heroes
The experience of veteran center was hugely valuable and she rolled back the years with a classy show, racking up 12 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
At the other end of the spectrum, Olympic debutante Masa Jankovic has enjoyed her first edition of the Games so far.
After some bright signs in her first outing against Puerto Rico, she was excellent in this second appearance. The forward finished with 13 points from a smart 6 of 8 shooting effort and added 7 rebounds.
Stats don't lie
China have big frontcourt options but settled for far too many three-point attempts. They shot an eye-watering 34 attempts, sinking 8 of them.
This was combined with defense that was not at the level where it is supposed to be and they could never have envisaged giving up so many points against a Serbia team not known for their offensive firepower.
They said
I've broken the ice - Nadija Smailbegovic
"It's amazing [first Olympics]. The first game I felt a little bit anxious. Now I have broken the ice. We have been working together as a team for two months and now we are getting the results. We need to be focused. We need to have in our minds why we are here."
"After the first game we realized it was not who we are and we could do better. Today, we showed this. But of course we need to prepare for the next game now and make sure we take more positive things for [the next stage] in Paris." Serbia guard, Nadija Smailbegovic
Today all 12 of our girls were ready to play - Coach Maljkovic
"We have been playing China and a lot of games against them - both official and friendly games. It is always difficult as they are a great team with some great individuals. I thought today all 12 of our girls were ready to play. All had the same goal and all were very precise with what they had in their minds. When we come here with this kind of team we have, we can not have any goals. We are just going day by day." Serbia head coach, Marina Maljkovic.
Turning point
- This victory by a 22-point margin is Serbia’s largest win ever in the Olympics; in fact, this is the first time that they have won a game at the Olympics by a double-digit margin. - Serbia have allowed fewer than 60 points in each of their two games at the Olympics 2024 after never conceding below that mark in any of their previous 14 games in the competition. - China scored only 20 points in the second half of today’s game, the second lowest for them after the half-time break in the Olympics history, after scoring only 17 points against Italy in 1996. - Yueru Li grabbed 11 rebounds in today’s game – it’s the third time that she has tallied 10+ rebounds in a game at the Olympics, and only one China player has more such games than her: Haixia Zheng has five games with double-digit rebounds. - Tina Krajisnik (Serbia) had her first double-double in the Olympics, combining for 12 points and 11 rebounds against China. She also tallied three steals, as many as in her previous seven games in the Olympics combined.
FIBA