Serbia defeated South Sudan by 96:85 in the third round of the group stage of the Olympic Games.
Earlier in the day, Team USA defeated Puerto Rico by 104:83, confirming first place in the group.
Filip Petrusev started this game phenomenally as well, and with his quick six points and a three-pointer from Bogdan Bogdanovic, Serbia took a six-point lead. Through fast transition play, Marial Shayok and Carlik Jones leveled the score. Riding the wave of good shooting, South Sudan created a turnaround and led 18:15. Nikola Jokić sparked a mini-series of 5:0 for Serbia, and Vasilije Micic brought freshness from the bench, giving Serbia a slim 24:23 lead before the continuation of the game.
Although South Sudan, led by JT Thor, scored the first points of the second period, Bogdanovic and Nikola Milutinov orchestrated an 11:0 run, allowing Serbia to pull ahead to 34:25 after a technical foul on Royal Ivey. Serbia had several chances to increase their lead further, but Jones and Bul Kuol quickly scored eight points to make it 36:33, leading to a timeout from Serbia’s bench.
In the continuation, a similar scenario unfolded where Serbia struggled to achieve a double-digit lead, and South Sudan had a 47:44 deficit at halftime with 10 points and seven assists from Jones, who played the entire game.
Rest? It's still not an option 😅🇸🇸 #Paris2024
— Basketball Sphere (@BSphere_) August 3, 2024
Carlik Jones (@carlikjones) in the first half vs 🇷🇸 Serbia:
1️⃣0️⃣ PTS
3️⃣ REB
7️⃣ AST
1️⃣ STL
2️⃣0️⃣ MINUTES 🤯#Olympics #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/sypAqQIN41
At the start of the second half, Bogdan Bogdanovic got into a rhythm, scoring 11 points in a relatively short period of time, which gave Serbia an eight-point lead. South Sudan once again relied on three-point shots early in their possessions, and when they missed, they would resolve it with offensive rebounds.
After a dunk by Nikola Jovic in transition, Serbia led 72:63, but once again missed several opportunities to extend their lead to double digits. The final word was from Carlik Jones, who made a floater with the buzzer sounding, ending the game at 72:67.
After just a few seconds of the decisive quarter, South Sudan was trailing by one point, but Aleksa Avramovic from the free-throw line and Bogdanovic in good rhythm restored a significant 78:71 lead. Marial Shayok responded with his fourth three-pointer, but Vasilije Micic immediately increased the lead back to eight points on the next possession.
It was Micic who gave Serbia its largest lead with a layup for 85:74, after they had missed several opportunities to do so much earlier. Serbia continued their excellent play, going up to 91:74 with three minutes remaining, thus sealing the victory in this game.
Serbia was led to win by the duo of Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Jokic. Serbia’s captain scored 30 points with eight assists, while the Denver Nuggets center added 22 points and 13 rebounds.
For South Sudan, Carlik Jones had 17 points and 10 assists, while Marial Shayok scored 17 points.
Serbia’s opponent in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games will be the Australian national team, which will be officially confirmed after the draw taking place on Sunday.
SERBIA – SOUTH SUDAN 96:85 (23:22, 24:22, 25:23, 24:18)
Venue: Pierre Maurroy Stadium, Lille
Referees: Ademir Zurapovic, Yohan Rosso, Martins Kozlovskis
Serbia: Plavsic, Petrusev 10, Jovic 8, Bogdanovic 30, Marinkovic, Dobric 5, Jokic 22, Micic 15, Guduric 1, Davidovac, Avramovic 3, Milutinov 4.
Južni Sudan: Jones 17, Omot 14, Maluach, Kuoi 11, Kuany, Gabriel 9, Thor 7, Shayok 17, Makoi, Deng 5, Jok 5, Dech.
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