Serbia brought out a lineup that is a perfect mix of veterans and upstarts in its quest to gain an Olympic spot in the 2021 FIBA Belgrade Qualifiers.
“They’re a group of guys that have played together through the years. They understand one another. And they have played the game at a very, very high level for a very long time,” said Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tab Baldwin about Serbia on The Chasedown.
Leading the charge include four players whom Gilas Pilipinas faced during the 2019 FIBA World Cup. There, the Philippines bowed to the mighty Serbians, 67-126, last September 2.
Nemanja Bjelica, who plays for the Miami Heat, is back. He had 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting during the game.
Dallas Mavericks’ 7-foot-4 beanpole Boban Marjanovic, who went 4-of-4 from the field and had nine points, is also back.
Stefan Jovic (six points, four rebounds, and four assists); and Vasilije Micic (11 points, seven assists, and two steals) are also back.
Another familiar foe of the Gilas program in 6-foot-11 wunderkind Filip Petrusev of Mega Basket also lines up. During the 2019 Under-19 Worlds, he had 17 points, eight rebounds, and three steals against Kai Sotto and Gilas Youth.
Completing Igor Kokoškov’s lineup are veteran Milos Teodosic, Danilo Andusic, Aleksa Avramovic, Dejan Davidovac, Ognjen Dobric, Nikola Kalinic, Vasilije Marjanovic, and Dragan Milosajljevic.
“Serbia is probably the second-best team in the world behind the United States. They have great players and a great coach in Coach Igor,” said Baldwin.
Branko Lazić and Nikola Milutinov were cut due to health reasons, while Vanja Marinković and Dalibor Ilić were the last two tough chops they had to make.
Serbia opens its campaign against the Dominican Republic on the 30th. They follow it up with a match-up against Gilas the next day.
The two two teams in Pool A will figure in a crossover playoff with Puerto Rico, Italy, or Senegal.
