QF-BOUND. Serbia's Bogdan Bogdanovic goes for a layup in the match against the Dominican Republic at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday (Sept. 3, 2023). Serbia whips Dominican Republic, 112-79 to book a quarterfinal slot. (PNA photo by Avito C. Dalan)
MANILA – Serbia and Canada earned the last seats in the FIBA Basketball World Cup quarterfinals after scoring contrasting wins in their knockout Round of 16 games on Sunday night.
Serbia manhandled the Dominican Republic, 112-79, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Serbia notched its place in the quarterfinals in style by putting a nasty end to what had been an inspiring run by the Dominican Republic.
Serbia quickly blew the game wide open by surging to a 29-11 lead late in the first quarter, and the team never looked back from there.
Bogdan Bogdanovic played a perfect game with 20 points on 7-for-7 field goals alongside one rebound, five assists and three steals to lead Serbia, which finished second in Group I.
Vanja Marinkovic and Nikola Milutinov each added 16 points for Serbia, which will play Lithuania in the quarterfinals on Tuesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena (MOA) in Pasay City.
Karl-Anthony Towns put up 25 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal for the Dominican Republic, which ended its campaign with back-to-back losses after a 3-0 start.
On the other hand, Canada broke some dry spells after a fourth-quarter rally pushed them to an 88-85 win against Spain at the Indonesia Arena in Jakarta.
Down seven, 71-78, with four minutes left, Canada waxed hot primarily from the perimeter and the free throw line to take the lead with 4.3 seconds left.
Alex Abrines still tried to force overtime, but his long three only hit the front rim as time expired.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Canada, which also earned a direct entry to the Paris Olympics as one of the two best teams from the Americas in the FIBA World Cup, the other being the United States of America (USA), with 30 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and three steals.
Dillon Brooks added 22 points, five rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
Willy Hernangomez put up 25 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block, while Santi Aldama added 20 points and two rebounds for Spain, which has been dethroned as the world champion.
USA falls to Lithuania
Meanwhile, Lithuania gave Team USA a reality check ahead of the quarterfinals with a 110-104 win, also at the MOA.
A sizzling first quarter where Lithuania was unstoppable from beyond the arc turned out to be enough as the team held off Team USA's gallant stand, especially in the second half.
Vaidas Kariniauskas led Lithuania with 15 points, four rebounds, and two assists, while Mindaugas Kuzminskas added 14 points, two rebounds, and one assist.
Tadas Sederkerskis, Ignas Brazdeikis, and Tomas Dimsa each chipped in 11 markers with Sederkerskis also grabbing 11 boards.
Anthony Edwards fired 35 points with one rebound, two assists, three steals and one block for Team USA, which battles Italy in the quarterfinals also on Tuesday night. (PNA)
