Serbia crushed the opponent. And Jokic almost made Olympic history
Nikita Biryukov July 31, 2024, 21:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
The NBA MVP made the difference on both ends of the court and the Serbians were unstoppable.
A meeting of teams that have not yet tasted victory at the Olympic Games in France. We are talking about Serbia and Puerto Rico, who play in Group C, along with the United States and South Sudan. The Serbians, with Nikola Jokic on the court, were in no way inferior to the Americans and, in the absence of the NBA MVP, missed all the shots in the match. The European team needs to recover from its defeat.
The Serbians started the match against Puerto Rico exactly as they did against the United States: Svetislav Pesic’s team worked zealously on defense and took advantage of their opponent’s mistakes, punishing them with counterattacks. Filip Petrushev performed magnificently, scoring 10 points in the middle of the first quarter. The Puerto Ricans, led by Jose Alvarado, periodically responded to the opponent’s actions, but in general the game was clearly not under their control. At the end of the quarter, the ball stopped “flying” to the basket for both sides. Serbia, thanks to a confident start, won the segment with a score of 24:12.
The joy of the Serbian bench
Photo: fiba.basketball
Nikola Jokic made a clear contribution to Serbia’s game, as the national team began to play more and more handoffs, which the center loves to play with Jamal Murray in Denver. The Joker himself was not very good at shooting the ball into the hoop, but the NBA MVP worked 100% on defense. When Jokic sat on the bench, Chris Ortiz made two three-pointers and Pesic responded with a timeout. Then two-time Euroleague champion Vasiliye Micic got involved, beat his opponent twice in the arc one-on-one and, after a pass, threw the ball into the basket. The Serbians did not slow down until the break, but managed to beat Puerto Rico by a small margin (28:23). Jokic almost achieved a double-double at the break: 10 points and nine rebounds.
The teams clearly took a breath during the break, as after returning to the court, the energy of each of the players was immediately visible. The teams exchanged effective attacks. Jokic continued to make excellent use of his teammates, leading them to free throws, and the Serbian lead had already increased to 20 points. At the same time, it cannot be said that Puerto Rico did not have opportunities to take the basket. They simply did not hit the ball from good positions. However, this did not prevent the Serbians from doing their job: Aleksa Avramovic, Bogdan Bogdanovich and others were caught. 27:16 in favor of the team led by Pesic.
Olympic Games (m). Group C. 1st round
July 31, 2024, Wednesday. 18:15 Moscow time
Puerto Rico: Pineiro, Conditt, Howard, Reed, Alvarado, Thompson, Ford, Clavell, Romero, Ortiz, Toro, Waters
Serbia: Plavsic, Petrushev, Jovic, Bogdanovic, Marinkovic, Dobrich, Jokic, Micic, Guduric, Davidovac, Avramovic, Milutinov
The teams finished the decisive quarter of the match simply. Serbia’s lead first reached 30 points, then 40. In the end, the European team won 107:66. The best scorer of the match was Puerto Rican Chris Ortiz, who scored 19 points, six rebounds and two assists. Petrushev proved his worth for Serbia with 15 points and nine rebounds. But the biggest shame is for Jokic, who finished the match with 14 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists. The center was just one assist away from a triple-double at the Olympics. Previously, only the legendary USSR national team player Sergei Belov, the no less legendary LeBron James and one of the brightest basketball players of recent years, Luka Doncic, managed to do so.
It is clear why Serbia played until the last seconds of the match and tried to increase its lead. In the first match, the team lost to the USA by a difference of 26 points: 84:110. And the difference in points at the Olympics can play a role: if a team takes third place in its group, then it has a chance to qualify for the playoffs thanks to a better or worse result. That is why the Serbians continued to play so desperately even in the last seconds of the match. Puerto Rico is simply much weaker than the current Serbia and has one of the best, if not the best, players on the planet in Jokic. The USA – South Sudan match awaits us, which will decide many things in Group C.
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