After giving the USA their closest game so far in the Rio Olympics, Serbia will have another chance on Sunday to dethrone FIBA’s number one ranked team.
Serbia routed Australia 87-61 in the second Olympic basketball semi-final as they will play in the gold medal game in not only a rerun of an earlier group stage encounter but also the 2014 FIBA World Cup final in Madrid.
On both occasions, the U.S. won.
Serbia will be ready for them though. And judging by this latest victory where they totally outplayed a helpless Boomers side in every department, they are the best hope to beating the all-conquering Americans, who are still yet to taste defeat even if they’re not at their best.
Serbia signalled their intentions from the start, scoring the first eight points, while defensively suffocating the Aussies, who were unable to get into their stride. The European giants led 16-5 after the first quarter and any hopes of a comeback from Australia were quickly dashed when Serbia held a commanding 35-14 lead at the half.
Milos Teodosic, who many people said had out-performed USA guard Kyrie Irving when the two sides last met in the group phase led Serbia with 22 points and five assists as he helped his side build a 28-point lead late on, just as the Australians were getting into a rhythm.
Australia, who were led by Patty Mills’ 13 points will play Spain for bronze on Sunday.
