BELGRADE (Serbia) - Sometimes, all you need to do is check the name meaning. Nikola derives from an ancient Greek name combining the terms victory (nike) and for the people (laos), and for the people of Serbia, it was the players with that name delivering a 102-73 win over Iceland.
The first one is the most obvious one. Nikola Jokic read the Icelandic defense, saw that they weren't too keen on him scoring so he was the usual facilitator for everybody else.
Jokic had 6 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists on the day, drawing the usual "oohs" and "ahs" from the Belgrade faithful in his 23 minutes of work.
One of his favorite targets? Well, of course, another Nikola, Jovic, author of 21 points in just 23 minutes of work, playing through foul trouble.
The third Nikola is Nikola Milutinov, whose real impact cannot be measured in stats, as his towering figure made the opponents think twice and thrice before avoiding the painted area altogether.
Milutinov held his own against Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert in their preparation games before the window, he was dominant here too, finishing with 10 points and 7 rebounds in 14 minutes of action.
And then, there was the newest Nikola.
We've already seen Nikola Tanaskovic go off for 24 points in 28 minutes against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers First Round. He took it up a notch in this one.
He had 21 points in 17 minutes, done on 8-of-10 shooting from the field in the first three quarters alone. In fact, he was so hungry to score that he even scored a rare own goal...
Tanaskovic only returned for the final two minutes of the game, finishing at team-high 23 points, as coach Dusan Alimpijevic now sees his team standing tall at 5-2 in Group J.
However, his Nikolas will have to be at 100 percent on Monday, too. They've got a pair of Nico's at the other end, as Mannion and Melli host the Serbs in Pesaro, Italy at 19:30 CET.
FIBA