NORRKOPING (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers) - It's one thing to hear about how good a player is and something else entirely to see it with your own eyes.

Bosnia and Herzegovina know that only too well after being torched by a red-hot Marcus Eriksson on Wednesday night in Sweden's 81-73 victory, as more than 150,000 tuned in from around the world to watch the game streamed.

The 23-year-old, who last month ended a five-year run with Barcelona and signed for Herbalife Gran Canaria, lived up to his reputation as a premier marksman, burying 5-of-9 attempts from the arc and scoring a game-high 25 points.

"Did you know Eriksson was this good of a shooter?" a journalist asked Bosnia and Herzegovina coach Dusko Vujosevic after the game.

Vujosevic laughed and answered: "No. You can hear things about players, but it is another thing to deliver in a game like this. Even if he missed a shot, we still had to chase him like a rabbit."

Vujosevic had his players chasing Eriksson 'like a rabbit' but to no avail

Eriksson, Wednesday's evidence suggests, was the missing link for Sweden last summer when they lost two hard-fought and very close encounters to Bosnia and Herzegovina in their FIBA EuroBasket 2017 qualifying campaign.

Sweden have seen this sort of performance before from Eriksson, only not for the senior team and not for a long time.

With the Scandinavians at the 2012 and 2013 FIBA U20 European Championships, Eriksson had some scintillating games, like on Wednesday.

When I started coaching, one of my dreams was to coach against this coach, Vujosevic. He was my coach when I was 16 years old. He helped me a lot back then and I followed his career after that.

Sweden coach Vedran Bosnic

To do so in front of a packed house in Norrkoping with the stakes as high as they are was very impressive. Only the top two sides in each of the four groups will clinch spots in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, despite having a young side, and Sweden are the teams that many expected before Wednesday to finish in the top two of Group A ahead of the Slovak Republic and Armenia.

Armenia, who were playing and winning the FIBA European Championship For Small Countries only last year, showed in their 75-61 home triumph over the Slovak Republic in Yerevan that nothing is a certainty. A home loss for the Swedes could have been devastating.

Dzanan Musa led Bosnia and Herzegovina with 17 points 

"We know that Bosnia and Herzegovina is an extremely good team," Sarajevo-born Vedran Bosnic, the Sweden coach, said. "This is a very big win for us and for Sweden."

The game also had special significance for Bosnic, who was fully aware that Vujosevic has a reputation as one of the best coaches in all of Europe.

"I must be honest with all of you here," he said, speaking to the journalists in the post-game press conference.

"When I started coaching, one of my dreams was to coach against this coach, Vujosevic. He was my coach when I was 16 years old. He helped me a lot back then and I followed his career after that.

"I'm extremely happy for my guys and for Swedish basketball."

FIBA