Men Basketball National Team of Serbia persuasively defeated China with score 94:60 in the last round of “A” Group at the Olympic tournament and has qualified for quarter final. Our team will meet the first team in group B in the quarter final game , on Wednesday at 23:45, and that team will be known early on Tuesday morning, after the last round of this group. Possible opponents in quarter final game are Lithuania, Croatia, or Argentina, and all quarter final games are to be played on Wednesday.

Serbia was more than persuasive in the game with China. Chinese players have only in the first quarter with their aggressive and struggling game partly counteracted our team. Nevertheless, big difference in quality, as well as excellent approach to the game by all our players, brought us big score advantage. Serbia controlled the game in the first half, and in the second quarter our team was 15 points ahead. But, the third part was furious, our team opened it with serial of 17:2, and won that one with even 35:15. The difference in favor of Serbia increased , and the maximal 45 points advantage was in 36th minute , when the scoreboard showed 90:45.

All our players contributed to this triumph, and head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic equally divided equally minutes per game on all 12 national players. .

The most valuable in Serbian team was Bogdan Bogdanovic with 19 points (9-5 for three point field goal( and two digit score had Nikola Kalinic (15(, as well as Milan Macvan and Miroslav Raduljica who had 11 points each. Nikola Jokic had seven rebounds, and Milos Teodosic and Stefan Markovic had five assistance each.

Aleksandar Djordjevic

– The boys seriously approached the game against China and their game is praiseworthy. No matter who the opponent is they played in right way, as they did in all games up to now. We have saved energy and divided the minutes per game. The qualification into quarter final was our first small goal. We have quarter final game ahead of us and there are no calculations for it. The group our opponent is coming from is leveled, it will be very interesting. If I started to calculate I would end up with headache. We are ready for any rival! I am very surprised with that other group and with the result in it, but basketball tournament at this Olympic Games is very powerful.

Nikola Jokic
– The game with China was terrific…. I will not say that the victory was easy, but we needed the one like this before the next part of the tournament. I do not who will be our rival in quarterfinal, but whoever it be, it will not be easy for it. We shall play our best game, and in one game we can win anybody. As the head coach said, whoever it will be, will have no big influence on us, we shall play our game, and we will see is that enough…..

Milos Teodosic
– We have played very seriously from the very beginning in the game against China and we deserved to win. This should forget this game and concentrate on our next rival, whoever it is…. The game against America nourished our self-confidence because we have played it brilliantly and that we should use that self-confidence in quarterfinal….. Whichever team is our opponent in the next game is the team that ended as the first in the group and it will be uncertain. Rivals are equal, each team has both advantages and faults……

Serbia – China 94:60 (24:18, 19:10, 35:15,16:17)

Serbia: Teodosic 7, Simonovic 8, Bogdanovic 19, Markovic, Kalinic 15, Nedovic 6, Bircevic, Raduljica 11, Jokic 8, Stimac 7, Jovic 2, Macvan 11

China: Zhao, Sui, Guo 8, Ding 3, Zhai 11, Zhow P, 4, Yi 20, Li g. 3, Li M, Zou Y. 4, Zou Q. 3, Wang 4

Full statistics of this game can be seen on the link

http://www.fiba.com/olympics/2016/1408/Serbia-China#|tab=boxscore_statistics