Serbia has reached the final four in three of the last four FIBA Basketball World Cup tournaments.
Their most recent victory took place at the Mall of Asia Arena, where they outplayed Lithuania, winning with a commanding score of 87-68. This victory was primarily attributed to the outstanding shooting abilities of Bogdan Bogdanovic.
Serbia’s recent history in the World Cup includes reaching the semi-finals in 2010, making it to the finals in 2014, and securing a fifth-place finish in China in 2019. As a result of this latest defeat, Lithuania will now participate in the Classification Games 5-8.
Bogdan Bogdanovic demonstrated his prowess by scoring 18 points in the first half and ultimately finished the game with 21 points, making 9 of 13 shots, along with 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
This marked his ninth game with 20 or more points since the start of the previous World Cup in 2019, a feat no other player has achieved more than seven times during the same period.
Moreover, Bogdanovic’s World Cup career total points crossed the 400 mark, making him the sixth player in this century to achieve this milestone.
“Somehow, I was always losing to Lithuania before,” Bogdanovic said. “But I’ve seen Borisa Simanic’s message: ‘Guys, I’m good, don’t worry, let’s win tonight.’ From him to think about us, after everything that happened to him… He united us. This win is for him as well.”
