ESPOO (Finland) - Serbia started the Igor Kokoskov era with a convincing win as they defeated Finland 80-58 on the road in the FIBA EuroBasket 2021 Qualifiers.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Quarter-Finalists set the tone for their campaign as their defense dominated for an opening victory in Group E.

Turning Point: Serbia jumped out to a 7-2 start and pushed their advantage to nine points by the end of the opening quarter. Both sides struggled from the perimeter but Serbia's defence stifled their opponents and they would pull further clear in the second half.

Game Hero: Miroslav Raduljica did a bit of everything for Serbia. The veteran forward hit double figures in points by half-time and went on to finish with 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a block in a business like display.

Stats Don’t Lie: Serbia crashed the boards in the early stages with 7 offensive rebounds in the opening quarter alone. The rebounding stats continued to swell (50-28) with Finland held to 34 percent shooting from the field.

Bottom Line: Job done for Serbia on the road, and they return home to welcome fellow Gameday 1 victors Georgia to Belgrade on Sunday. For Finland, they will have to re-group and put a tough shooting night behind them as they next face Switzerland in a key encounter. 

FIBA