By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Russia became the favorite to win first place in Group D by beating Serbia 75 – 72 thanks to a well-balanced fourth quarter performance (21 – 17).
The Star: This time there was no need for Alexey Shved to score the key basket of the match, but he was once again the top scorer for Russia, finishing with 22 points (7/16) to go with his 4 assists.
Timofey Mozgov made an impact during the fourth quarter, notching 11 points plus 8 rebounds. Nikita Kurbanov also had 11 points.
Boban Marjanovic was the predominant offensive beacon for Serbia, finishing with 19 points plus 6 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic also scored 19 points but struggled with his perimeter shooting (3/10) and looked spent after last night’s 30-point effort vs Latvia.
Battle of the Giants: While Sergei Bazarevich experimented with “small-ball squads” in the first half (40-38) in order to counter Marjanovic’s action, there was no cure for him in the early in the fourth. With the Detroit Pistons center being constantly fed by his teammates, Serbia transformed a 58 – 51 deficit to 59 – 60.
That was the moment when Mozgov enter to fight fire with fire. He put Russia ahead 63 – 60 and that lead kept increasing until it almost reached double figures, 70 – 61, with four minutes left.
Lack of Serbian solutions down the stretch: Serbia didn’t have enough firepower to cover this difference. Bogdanovic made it 75 – 71 with 1:14 left and Dragan Milosavljevic 75 – 72 with 32 seconds remaining but their team didn’t manage to get any closer.
(Photo credit: FIBA.basketball)