Serbia ran riot in the first half and ripped the soul from Dominicana before it even knew what had happen. The question is, where was this Serbian performance when it was needed two days ago?
Imagine a boot stamping on a face for 40 minutes. That’s what it was like for Dominican Republic on Sunday night at Araneta Coliseum.
More than progress at stake
This game felt as much a referendum on the Serbia team and how it’s managed as much as what it was meant to be, a de facto elimination game between the Balkan nation and Dominican Republic. Through three straight summers now a roster that looks capable of winning medals be they at Olympic, EuroBasket, or FIBA World Cup level has lost to Italy when it mattered most and two of those directly eliminated them. The third, just two days ago, had set up a fight with Dominican Republic that had their future in this tournament and everything else beyond it for next summer riding on it.
Italy’s win earlier in the day made it seem like it was already going to be a bad day for Serbia even with a win, the combination of results meaning they couldn’t win the group and would almost certainly face the USA in the last eight even with a win over Dominican Republic…or so we thought. When it came to this game, they got one thing right early; they let Bogdan cook.
After a dire shooting performance in the last outing, Bogdanovic’s up and down tournament has been defined by the restrictive style Svetislav Pesic is running with this group and the veteran, who belongs in every hall of fame worth mention, refuses to change his style with the game’s evolution. This has been to the detriment of enabling this side to reach its full potential. Early against Dominicana, despite Karl-Anthony Towns putting them on his back, Serbia played with far more joie de vivre than has been the norm under Pesic.
Bogdan was being allowed to be his go everywhere self, chasing balls down and demanding sets adjust to him when the opportunity arose. The Serbian side looked hungrier than the bedbugs in my hotel room when they get near my right arm.
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This felt like a formality before we’d even reached the mid-point of the second quarter, such was Serbia’s dominance. Bogdan came back from his break with the side up 18 and that quickly turned to 20 as we were all left wondering where on earth this version of Serbia was two days ago.
We’ve been here too often
There are excuses, there always are. Last summer there was no Bogdan. This summer there’s no Nikola Jokic. Everyone is missing bodies though, with maybe Italy the only side still active that’s not truly missing someone of note when it comes to top tier talent on their rosters. Everyone else has adjusted and found a way to win. Look at Latvia for goodness sake, the more top players get injured for them the better they seem to perform.
This is Serbia, a nation that is ludicrously deep in talent and more capable than most of weathering the expected absences that happen come international tournaments. They were out here with three NBA players dismantling a Dominican side that clearly had no idea what type of storm it had entered. That should be the norm. Based on talent pool alone, the Serbia jersey should intimidate opponents.
Svetislav Pesic finally let his players express themselves in this game. More of that is needed. Pic credit: FIBA
By the time the second half started, most Serbian eyes were on their phones checking the score at the Mall of Asia as Lithuania had blow open a 31-12 hole after the first quarter against the USA to possibly send the quarter finals into total chaos, as well as setting up LTU as the opponent for Serbia in the last eight instead of the Americans.
The stunning twist
This one was in the books and even chatting to the Serbian journalists, when the result in Mall of Asia was still in doubt, they felt that their side could beat the USA although most of that was probably fuelled by their joy at half-time in how their side had battered Dominican Republic.
Oh yeah, then this happened
The reaction from the press room in Araneta Coliseum as Lithuania sealed the win over USA across town#FIBAWC #WinForAll #WinForLietuva pic.twitter.com/x7WXwYJpX9
— Ball in Europe (@ballineurope) September 3, 2023
On paper, Lithuania beating USA is of no consequence as both sides advanced and USA get arguably the nicer match-up in the form of Italy. In reality, this has blown the competition open as, once a god bleeds, they don’t seem so unkillable anymore. Serbia also get the result they wanted, facing Lithuania in the last eight and avoiding the USA until the final at the earliest.
Still, it’s more of this that is needed from Serbia if they plan on making more progress at the World Cup. There was aggression and pursuit from the off and an unrelenting nature to how they kept on punishing every miss or mistake by their opponent. That came from the key players, especially Bogdan, having the freedom to express themselves and play a form of basketball that relies on hyper-confidence.
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