SARAJEVO (Bosnia and Herzegovina) - They stormed back from -23 against Switzerland on Thursday, they followed it up with another come-from-behind win on Sunday.
Serbia trailed by eight points late in the fourth quarter in the Mirza Delibasic Arena, but once again managed to end the game with a win, celebrating a 74-72 triumph against Bosnia and Herzegovina in front of packed stands in Sarajevo.
Turning Point
Bosnia and Herzegovina opened up a 61-53 lead with nine minutes to play after Xavier Castaneda knocked down a three-pointer.
However, coach Dusan Alimpijevic decided his guys were not going to allow anything easy the rest of the way.
Serbia's tough defense held BIH without a field goal for five full minutes, taking the lead and staying in front until the closing seconds.
The hosts had a chance to tie the game in one last possession after Adin Vrabac forced a Serbian inbound turnover. However, Amar Alibegovic's layup in traffic went astray as the final buzzer sounded.
Game Hero
Nikola Tanaskovic made a name for himself in three seasons with Igokea in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but this time around he was the nemesis in Sarajevo.
The lefty big scored 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting, with 8 rebounds and an efficiency rating of 28, a game high by some distance.
Stats Don't Lie
BIH shot just 11-of-22 from the free throw stripe, which proved decisive in a one-possession game.
Bottom Line
Serbia rise to 2-0 with two dramatic victories in this window, but coach Alimpijevic will take them any way he can, already planning improvements for February.
Meanwhile, BIH playcaller Dario Gjergja will be disappointed his team failed to convert this lead into a win. Castaneda and Emir Sulejmanovic were the lone Dragons in double digits with 19 and 11, respectively.
They said
"We fought throughout the game. We were losing, but we were there all the time. We struggled to connect two good possessions on offense and defense, but we knew that it would go down to the wire. We waited for them to slow down, and we succeeded. I'd like to single out Jaramaz, he carried the weight of the point guard position, and Tanaskovic was great, too." - Nemanja Dangubic, Serbia
"This was a beautiful atmosphere, a beautiful basketball evening. I already said before the game that I enjoy playing in these circumstances more than in empty arenas, kudos to BIH, kudos to the fans because they created a great atmosphere. They could've won tonight, and it would've been a deserved win, BIH played good basketball tonight." - Serbia head coach Dusan Alimpijevic
"I'm really happy that I won. My wife is from Sarajevo, I have to be happy that we played like this, so that the son-in-law did not embarrass himself." - Alimpijevic, again
"We're in a new process, some of these guys have not played at this level yet, and don't have the level of execution yet. It's not easy to develop it in a couple of days. It's a process. It will last. I believe this will be their stimulus for something more. I told them in the locker room to keep their heads up high, we probably deserved more, in Türkiye and tonight, but I'm proud of them." - BIH head coach Dario Gjergja
FIBA