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04 - 09
July 2016
7 Bogdan BOGDANOVIC (Serbia)
22/06/2016
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Serbia win first of two OQT warm-ups against France

PARIS (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) – Serbia edged out France 79-77 in Paris on Monday night in the first of two warm-up games between the two European sides preparing for the upcoming FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments (OQTs).

"Defence remains the hallmark of this team" - Aleksandar Djordjevic

Serbia are hosting one OQT in Belgrade while France are getting ready for the OQT in Manila.

"Although the result is not so significant in a friendly, it is important to get in the habit of winning against opponents as strong as France," Serbia head coach Aleksandar Djordjevic commented. "We showed good defence and strong team play, so we are satisfied from those aspects. Of course, there is still much room for improvement and we will continue working without pause.

"I think all the players who entered the game made a significant contribution. Defence remains the hallmark of this team. As soon as we adopted the right attitude on the defensive end and read aggressively our opponent's game, it produced results," Djordjevic added.

France opened up a 15-point gap, 57-42, midway through the third period but Serbia stormed back and, 50 seconds from the final buzzer, Stefan Markovic hit a dagger three-pointer to bring the Balkan team ahead 77-72, effectively sealing their win.

"I'm glad that we are going to play as far as the Philippines, it will help me to focus on the game rather than friends or family" - Tony Parker

Bogdan Bogdanovic led all scorers with 25 points on 8-for-14 from the floor, while Miroslav Raduljica and Markovic added 11 points apiece, the latter also dishing out four assists. France captain Boris Diaw finished with 14 points and Thomas Heurtel had 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting in a losing effort.

"I think that our efforts on defence paid dividends and up until the third quarter incident we fought well," said France head coach Vincent Collet. "Overall it was an important work session. In the locker room, I insisted on better spacing and controlling offensive rebounds."



The next friendly game between the two teams is in Belgrade at the weekend and France star Tony Parker, who went 1-of-11 from the floor on Tuesday, hinted that he will come up with a much better display in the next encounter.

"I have only had two practice sessions with the team so far, so it was difficult to play against a big team like Serbia so early," the point guard said. "I must be realistic and be patient. I'm glad that we are going to play as far as the Philippines, it will help me to focus on the game rather than friends or family. My exact role on the team is something I will discuss with Vincent [Collet], but I am hopeful we will qualify and go fight for a medal in Rio.”

FIBA