By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
Serbia got an unsurprising 89-75 win against the Czechs in the first quarterfinal of the day in Lille, the two playing an international game at senior level for the first time.
Serbia, the 2014 FIBA World Cup runners-up, came into this game undefeated, had won their last four games by an average of 20 points, are second in scoring (at 87.8 points) and also have the most assists in the tournament (25.2 per game). So, like the Czech Republic’s coach, Ronen Ginzburg had said before the game: “Everybody knows the chances.” But he also said, “We believe and will try to do our best,” and this is exactly what the Czechs did.
They entered the game determined not to let Serbia walk all over them and had a strong start, at one point leading 7-14 midway through the first quarter. But the Serbs are the Serbs and they quickly tied the game at 21-21 before heading into the second. Ginzburg’s players weren’t about to throw in the towel just yet though. They managed to keep track of their opponents and actually tied the game once again (36-36) shortly before the half time break, but the Serbs were still able to head to the locker room with a three-point lead.
Aleksandar Djordjevic’s team maintained their advantage throughout the third but the Czechs were still only trailing by 4 with Tomas Satoransky throwing down a mean dunk and then dishing a nice assist to Jan Vesely to close out the quarter 67-63. The inevitable happened in the fourth and the Serbs extended the lead and in the end won by a 14-point margin.
“Obviously it’s a long trip,” Djordjevic said after the game, “and we are going one step after another. Maybe the anxiety is coming from the players to reach the qualification already, but you cannot achieve that in the first quarter or second quarter. We just have to remain calm. The next game will be special for us. The players deserve to be where they are.”
Zoran Erceg (3 rebounds, 2 assists) – who drilled in some handy three-pointers – was the top scorer for the Serbs with 20 points, and team captain and official facilitator Milos Teodosic – one of the best passers of the tournament – dished out a stunning 14 assists, scored 12 points and grabbed 2 rebounds. Miroslav Raduljica – who has been great for Serbia, averaging 18.5 points in the last four games in just 17 minutes per game, while converting 80% of his shots – dropped another 16 points tonight and collected 5 rebounds. Nemanja Bjelica was solid with a double-double of 14 points and 10 boards, plus 2 assists on the side.
Even though they couldn’t ultimately get the win for their team, the incredible duo Satoransky and Vesely delivered the goods once again, the first racking up 20 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists and the second 23 points and 10 rebounds, completing the double-double. American-born Blake Schilb contributed another 11 points, 3 boards and 2 assists.
Satoransky commented on his team, saying, “We can be proud of our teammates that we could be in the game for 33, 34 minutes against such talented players. We knew they would be aggressive but we stayed in the game and in the end they showed their talent and made some good shots. At the other end we had some good looks but couldn’t hit them. Still, I am proud of the team.”