Bogdan and Nikolas: Big three carry Serbia past South Sudan, undefeated into Second Round

MANILA (Philippines) - Serbia stayed focused on the task at hand and easily defeated debutants South Sudan 115-83 to book their spot in the Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

South Sudan were coming off their first-ever World Cup win but that didn't faze the Serbians, who were led by the trio of Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic and Nikola Milutinov in winning their first match-up with the Africans to grab first place of Group B with a perfect 3-0 mark. South Sudan finished the first group stage with a 1-2 record.

Game Highlights

Turning Point: Serbia had already led the whole second quarter and were ahead 45-36 when they finished the first half on a 10-3 surge to go into the locker room up 56-39. The lead grew to 29 points in the third quarter and the Africans could not get closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

TCL Player of the Game: While Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 23 points - pulling to 345 all time in the World Cup to tie Marc Gasol for 30th place - and had 9 assists and Nikola Milutinov tallied 17 points and 13 rebounds, the TCL Player of the Game award went to Nikola Jovic who totaled 25 points on 9-of-9 shots - including 5-of-5 three-pointers - 3 assists, 2 rebounds.

Bogdan Bogdanovic

Stats Don't Lie: Serbia shot 62 percent for the game including making 17 three-pointers at a 53 percent clip while dishing out 34 assists and committing only 8 turnovers. Serbia also had a 23-16 advantage in points off turnovers and 16-8 on second chance points.

Bottom Line: Serbia can already shift their focus to the Second Round and matching up with Dominican Republic and Italy regardless of what happens in the second game of the final day of action. South Sudan still have a chance to reach the Second Round if China beat Puerto Rico by 34 points or fewer. If not, then South Sudan move into the Classification 17-32 and will hope to qualify for the Olympics or Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

They Said: "Excellent result for our team. Congratulations to them. We had high concentration from the first minute until the end of the game, especially in transition defense. We played against a very physical team, excellent athleticism, offensive rebounding, very clear offensive concepts. For us it was a very interesting game. This was very important, just like every game. It’s important to win every game. But it's also important to use these games to improve our individual and team form. We had very good concentration on both sides of the court. We are all happy." - Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic.

"The result doesn't show it but it was a very physically demanding game for us. It was the toughest game we played in the group. I'm just happy and proud that we won and we showed the character at the end. For us we are happy with the result right now but the tournament is just starting for us." - Serbia guard Bogdan Bogdanovic

"We're feeling great. This is what we planned to do, and we did a really good job here in the First Round. Now we have to rest and get ready for the next round." - Serbia center Nikola Milutinov

"We played good all 3 games. We are in very good shape, and we have to continue from the Second Round." - Serbia forward Dejan Davidovac

"We ran into a well-oiled machine. Serbia is a good team. They shot 17-of-32 from threes, 53 percent, 69 percent on twos. They execute. They rarely turn over the ball. You see, they have shotmakers at every position. That's a tough guard. Kudos to them. We competed until the end for 40 minutes. I'm proud of my guys. They never laid down and showed spirit. And that's what it's about. You win some, you lose some. But we will fight for another day." - South Sudan coach Royal Ivey

"That was a very, very tough game. Serbia is a great team, a very experienced team. But kudos to Serbia. That is what we expected from them. They knock down their open shots, they stick together, run their plays and continue to fight until the end of the game. Our guys played hard. We take this as a learning tool. It’s a learning process and we will just continue to get better." - South Sudan guard Kuany Kuany

Press Conference

FIBA