RIGA (Latvia) - It's going to take some time to get used to life without Bogdan Bogdanovic, but Serbia are figuring it out, day by day.
The idea against Czechia was to use their bigger lineups and create advantages inside the arc, especially in the painted area. The plan worked, Serbia won the game 82-60 to climb to 4-0.
Czechia are the first team from Group A to be eliminated from contention.
Turning Point
The moment these two were drawn together. With all the absences from the Czechia frontcourt, it was clear as day that Serbia were the toughest possible opponent for them, given their unreal frontcourt depth.
Czechia could not get close to the painted area to begin the game and fired away 11 three-pointers in the first quarter alone, only hitting one.
Serbia, meanwhile, kept attacking the rim and found themselves up 27-5 after the first period.
At times, coach Svetislav Pesic even went with a lineup that included three Nikolas - Jovic, Jokic and Milutinov - a nightmare of a matchup for the undersized Czechia. No wonder they won the points in the paint 52-20.
TCL Player of the Game
Nikola Milutinov was the most efficient Serbian player on the day, collecting 12 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field, with 7 rebounds and 2 steals, picking up an efficiency rating of 19.
Milutinov scored a total of six points with eight rebounds through his first three games. His average efficiency rating per game was 4.0, meaning this was easily his best game of the tournament so far.
Stats Don't Lie
Czechia started the game shooting 2-of-19 from the field.
Basketball is sometimes that simple, no need to dig deeper into stats or advanced stats when the whole point is putting the ball through the rim and the Czechs could not do it efficiently.
Bottom Line
Serbia continued with their fine form in Latvia, claiming four straight wins and setting up a firecracker of a duel with Türkiye for the top spot in Group A.
This win was also enough to pull the hosts through to the Round of 16. With Latvia owning the tiebreaker over both Estonia and Portugal, and Czechia down at 0-4, the hosts will be in the elimination phase as the third seed from Group A.
Meanwhile, coach Pesic will have more injuries to worry about as Vasilije Micic's day was cut short after taking a blow to the rib cage on a Tomas Kyzlink drive late in the game. He left the game and did not return.
They Said
"Last night, it was emotional, we were sad to hear the news. But we know what to do. He's here with us, he's following us, we stay in touch with him, and we are playing for him and using this as our added motivation for the rest of the championship." - Stefan Jovic, Serbia, on life without Bogdan Bogdanovic
"Yeah. We believe in us. That's all. I wouldn't say we think about ourselves as the best team out here, this and that, but we know how good we are. We just have to prove it to everybody. We lost (Bogdan Bogdanovic), but still I feel like we have a really, really good team and we know what to do." - Nikola Jovic, Serbia, answering if Serbia are still the favorites to reach the podium
"This is the strongest Turkish team ever, probably." - Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic, talking about their next opponent, before adding that they are right next to the team that Bogdan Tanjevic coached to the Final of the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2010
"Our ambition remains the same, with Bogdan Bogdanovic or without him." - Coach Pesic, again, without saying explicitly what the ambition is, but expressing sadness that Bogdan is not with the team anymore
"They are playing very good. I saw a couple of their games, they are in good rhythm, they share the ball, Sengun is having an amazing tournament. We have to limit him, he's playing outside, inside, he can pop, he can pass the ball, so we have to scout him very good and limit him." - Tristan Vukcevic, Serbia, talking about the matchup with Türkiye
For more quotes, tune in to the official post-game press conference!
FIBA