Serbia shut down Kyle Anderson, preventing him from scoring in their commanding 105-63 victory over China in Group B of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Serbians had already established a 30-point lead at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Despite this, a late surge led by Dustan Rustic and Vanja Marinkovic enabled Serbia to execute a 16-0 finishing run, leaving the Dragons without any points in the final five minutes of the match.
Anderson, also known as Li Kaier, missed all nine of his shot attempts during his 25 minutes and 49 seconds on the court. Although scoreless, he contributed four rebounds, four assists, and one steal in his inaugural World Cup appearance for China.
“First, I’d like to congratulate my players and the team and coaching staff,” said Serbia’s head coach Svetislav Pesic.
“The game is like every other game, I mean regarding the preparation. We prepare our plan for the game plus we have some special assignments [to the players] before the game,” he continued as he faced good pal and China coach Sasha Djordjevic.
Leading Serbia in scoring was Atlanta Hawks swingman Bogdan Bogdanovic with 14 points, accompanied by four rebounds and three assists. Marinkovic and Rustic, both coming off the bench, contributed 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Nikola Milutinov added 11 points and six rebounds, while Nikola Jovic, a sophomore from the Miami Heat, recorded nine points, three rebounds, and two assists in the victory.
Serbia showcased an impressive shooting performance, hitting 57.6 percent of their shots and converting 24 of 28 free throws.
China’s Zhao Rui led their team with 17 points, making 7-of-13 shots from the field, while Zhou Qi contributed 12 points and five rebounds.
Serbia aims to maintain its momentum against South Sudan on Monday at 8:00 p.m., while China seeks a rebound against Puerto Rico earlier that day at 4:00 p.m.
The Scores:
Serbia 105 – Bogdanovic 14, Marinkovic 14, Ristic 13, Milutinov 11, Avramovic 10, Jovic N. 9, Petrusev 8, Guduric 7, Davidovac 7, Dobric 6, Jovic S. 5, Simanic 1.
China 63 – Zhao 17, Zhou Q. 12, Zhou P. 9, Zang 9, Wang 5, Hu J. 4, Cui 3, Fu 2, Li 0, Hu M. 0, Zhu 0.
Quarterscores: 25-14, 55-34, 77-47, 105-63
