BELGRADE (Serbia) - Serbia finished strong at FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament  opener in Belgrade, beating the Dominican Republic 94-76. While the Serbians had a bit of a point cushion at the end,  it wasn't an easy win at all.

Serbia entered the game in a dunk mode, with six of the first ten points coming by throw-downs from Boban Marjanovic, Ognjen Dobric, and Nemanja Bjelica for an early 10-2 lead. But the Dominicans answered back. Led by Victor Liz and Gelvis Solano, they came back and then took the first lead of the game two minutes before the break, 46-45, before it was all tied up 47-47 after a very intense first half.

With the third quarter coming to a close, the Serbians raised their game up a notch  as they carried this momentum into the fourth where they  found their best defense, energy, and offensive rhythm. Outscoring the Dominican Republic 27-10 over the final ten minutes of the game gives them some level of confidence going forward in this Olympic qualifying tourney.

Turning point: The move to a zone defensive scheme by Serbia's head coach Igor Kokoskov at the start of the fourth quarter helped his team buckle down for a crucial 9-0 run. From then on, Serbia took an advantage they would only increase until the final buzzer.   

Game heroes: Boban Marjanovic was terrific in a double-double way, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for a total efficiency plus-minus score of 27. He was 7-of-12 in the paint and 4-of-4 from the line. Filip Petrusev added 17 points, and Vasilije Micic chipped in 16 points and five dimes.

Stats don't lie: As expected, Serbia dominated the points from the paint 58-24 but didn't take advantage in rebounding as maybe was a plan (43-37). Fast break points also played a significant role, as the "Eagles" picked up 24 of them, mainly in the fourth quarter, compared to just nine from the Dominicans.

They said:

"It was a difficult game for us. It was the first time we play together. Some guys started working with the team two days ago. So, it's not easy. We can not just put the names on the court and win. The game was exactly what we expected. The good thing is we won, it is only what matters. It doesn't have to be pretty and cute, but we got to get it done. And we did that tonight.  A lot of mistakes from our side, and we must fix them. It should be a long summer for us in terms of playing many games, and this time 'click' came from the bench, came from the guys who decide to win the game", Serbia head coach Igor Kokoskov.

FIBA