By Rigas Dardalis/ dardalis@eurohoops.net
The talent of Milos Teodosic (23 p.) and the Serbian defense led the “Eagles” to the semifinal of FIBA World Cup with a big 84-56 win over Brazil. The south Americans couldn’t keep up in the second half, when they scored just 19 points in 20 minutes and collapsed while Serbia was dominating the court.
The game was decided in the third quarter with a 29-12 partial score which gave a 66-44 lead to the Serbs. Brazil had just 22/65 field goals and with this kind of performance couldn’t hope for something better. Serbia dished 19 assist and had just 6 turnovers, a dream number for any coach in such an important game.
Coach Ruben Magnano admitted: “I would like to congratulate Serbia for this outstanding performance. There was a moment in the match that we had an emotional black out and that put us out of the game. There are no excuses, we are responsible for this”. Winning coach Sasha Djordjevic added: “Our players had a great night, they were focused, physical and smart. And being smart was the most important, because for where we came from, basketball is not just a sport. We would like to play against Spain in the semifinal, because they are the best and you have to beat the best in order to be the best”.