Serbia, the first to qualify for the World Cup finals after its victory over Canada (95-86)

Serbia finished on Friday in favor of Canada (95-86) to reach, thanks to a wonderful match by Bogdan Bogdanovic in which he defeated Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, to the final match in which the opponent is already waiting, who will emerge from the duel between them. Germany and the United States.

It was Canada's first World Cup semi-final in its history and the third for the veteran, informal and, of course, talented Serbia. The lack of experience in North America was evident on the woodwork of the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. Serbia was a whirlwind led by Bogdanovic unleashed, and Canada found itself deeply overwhelmed by the situation, perhaps for the first time since the start of its World Cup adventure in Southeast Asia.

Not even against Spain, which put them in trouble, or against Brazil, which managed to win, did Canada give the impression of being inferior. But Besic-Svetislav's plan worked perfectly from the start, as the team went on an 8-0 run with hat-tricks from Eugenin Dobrić and Bodjan Bogdanovic making it 8-1, the first big advantage of the match.

The quality of Fernandes' selection, although she was out of place for most of the match due to the Serbian approach, allowed her to largely stop the bleeding that occurred during the duel, which could have been much greater.

Thanks to hat-tricks from RJ Barrett and Oleinik, they were able to pull one back on the first score, but that was a mirage in a first quarter that was completely dominated by Serbia, who, strangely enough, were able to do a lot of damage in quick transitions, which is the specialty of the Serbian national team. North American team. The 11-0 scoreline made it 21-13 which Jordi Fernandes could not understand from the bench. Canada was greatly outnumbered, and Serbia was flying.

The European team did not reduce its intensity or pace in the second quarter, knowing that Canada did not need much to get back on track and reduce the lead. The Serbian defense was accidental, and thanks to two goals from Milutinov (16 points), again on those quick turnovers, the lead increased to 10 points.

It was no longer just about Serbia's great game on defense, it was about Canada failing at everything it had not yet failed at. Not only did Shai Gilgeous-Alexander not score on the afternoon, he was foul-laden before half-time. The third goal was +15 for Serbia, which ended the first half with +13 (52-39).

Just 5 points from Shay in the first half, and 15 at the end of the game, were not enough to take Canada to the grand final. Bogdanovic was decisive in the first half, but he was excellent in the second half. Canada finished the game with 17 fouls in the first half, 3 of which were from Shay, showing the frustration of a team that is not used to having problems on offense.

Serbia was ready for the second match, and had to put the knockout blow on the table against one of the world's basketball powers. His pulse never faltered and he showed superiority everywhere in the Philippines, as Bogdanovic finished with 23 points.

Canada tried to respond with Brooks from the three-point line, but Serbia countered all the good Canadian moves with accuracy in the area, aggressiveness in the area and confidence in circulation. A choral performance with conductor Bogdanovic, who walked around Manila and pointed the way to the final.

I left Canada on the ropes. Fernandes was forced to pause to deliver a massive rebuke to his team with just over five minutes to go: “Fight together,” Fernandes said at 82-65, searching for a reaction from his players, stung by Serbia's inability and hurt.

But with just over a minute remaining, and seeing that an advantage of more than 10 points was insurmountable, it was Jordi Fernandes himself who raised the white flag and awarded minutes to lesser-known players. Serbia was in the final.

The 2014 runner-up, who lost to the United States, a finalist and silver medalist at Rio 2016, returns for another major final. Bogdanovic, the Canadian ogre, was the great architect of another historic day for Serbian basketball.

data sheet

95 Serbia (23+29+23+20): Nikola Jovic (8), Bogdan Bogdanovic (23), Eugen Dobrić (16), Stefan Jovic (2), Nikola Milutinov (16) – starting lineup -, Alexa Avramović (10), Dejan Davidovac (4), Marko Guduric (12) ). ) Vanja Marinkovic (4) and Filip Petrusev (0).

86 Canada (15+24+24+23): Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (15), RJ Barrett (23), Kelly Olynyk (9), Dillon Brooks (16), Dwight Powell (5) – Main Team -, Logoentz Dort (3), Kyle Alexander (0), Nickeil Alexander (0). Walker (10), Zach Eddy (5), Phil Scrubb (0), Melvin Ejim (0) and Trae Bill Hines (0).

the reviewer: Julio Anaya (Panama), Johan Rousseau (France), Manuel Mazzone (United States).

Accidents: The corresponding match of the 2023 FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup semi-finals will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila (Philippines).