Serbia – China 105:63 ( 25:14, 30:20, 22:13, 28:16)
Serbia gets a win at the start of the World Cup! In the game of the first round of group B, national team of Serbia defeated national team of China 105:63.
At the start of the game Serbia was losing 0:6, but thanks to Milutinov and Stefan Jovic they managed to catch up. At the half mark of the first quarter, our team took over the lead and kept increasing it until the end of the first 10 minutes, 25:14. In the first quarter, Filip Petrusev suffered a small injury after scoring 8 points after which he did not return to the game.
The second quarter was an efficient quarter for our team, our team scored 30 points, while national team of China scored 20, which added up to Serbia’s lead, which was +21 at the halftime.
Third quarter did not change nothing in the game. Serbia kept control over the game, and after a three pointer from Dusan Ristic the lead was 77:47 after 30 minutes in Manila.
In the last quarter our team kept increasing the lead without letting up, and after the final buzzer the game ended with +42 lead for Serbia.
Head Coach Svetislav Pesic:
“We did a good job preparing for the game, and everything we did everything we planned. We secured an important win, and we showcased a good game on both ends of the floor. Defense was on a great level, and we built our confidence from their for our offensive game. This is a completely new team. This game was so important for us to show that we want and that we can win. Just like in this game, in every next game defense will play an important part. I expect for us to progress as the tournament progresses. I believe that we can surprise fans in Serbia, just like we did against China.”
Nikola Milutinov:
“Excellent start, we opened the game with great energy, excellent defense which brought us the lead. We ran great, we just need to keep this up. I am glad to see that there are our fans here, that they support us, I just want to thank them!”