# 2023 Serbia FIBA Basketball World Cup team

The 2023 Serbia FIBA Basketball World Cup team represented Serbia at the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Serbia qualified for the World Cup by taking the 2nd place in the European Second Round Group I. The team is coached by Svetislav Pešić, with assistant coaches Oliver Kostić, Marko Marinović, Saša Kosović, Ognjen Stojaković and Nenad Jakovljević. The Serbian team won the fifth place at the previous World Cup.
This was the 4th appearance of Serbia at the FIBA Basketball World Cup; however, FIBA considers Serbia as the successor team of FR Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro who themselves qualified on three occasions. Serbia's best result is 2nd place in 2014; however, FIBA considers Serbia as the successor team of FR Yugoslavia who won 2 World Cups (1998, 2002).

## Timeline

* 24 July: 20-man roster announced
* 28 July: The players gathering in Belgrade
* 1 August – 21 August: Exhibition games
* 24 August : Final 12-man roster announced
* 25 August – 10 September: 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup

## Qualification
### First round

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Latvia | 6 | 5 | 1 | 475 | 422 | +53 | 11 | Second round (Group I) |
| 2 | Belgium | 6 | 4 | 2 | 460 | 392 | +68 | 10 | Second round (Group I) |
| 3 | Serbia | 6 | 3 | 3 | 448 | 439 | +9 | 9 | Second round (Group I) |
| 4 | Slovakia | 6 | 0 | 6 | 376 | 506 | −130 | 6 | |

### Second round

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Latvia | 10 | 9 | 1 | 807 | 707 | +100 | 19 | 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup |
| 2 | Serbia | 10 | 6 | 4 | 825 | 803 | +22 | 16 | 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup |
| 3 | Greece | 10 | 6 | 4 | 775 | 764 | +11 | 16 | 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup |
| 4 | Turkey | 10 | 4 | 6 | 782 | 742 | +40 | 14 | |
| 5 | Belgium | 10 | 4 | 6 | 679 | 717 | −38 | 14 | |
| 6 | Great Britain | 10 | 1 | 9 | 697 | 832 | −135 | 11 | |
* 1 2 Serbia 192–191 Greece
* 1 2 Turkey 2–0 Belgium

## Roster
### Earlier candidates

The following were candidates to make the team:
Earlier candidates :
| Player | Team | Added | Removed | Reason |
| Aleksej Pokuševski | Oklahoma City Thunder | 24 July 2023 | 28 July 2023 | Injured |
| Ognjen Jaramaz | Bayern Munich | 24 July 2023 | 31 July 2023 | Injured |
| Nemanja Nedović | Crvena zvezda Meridianbet | 24 July 2023 | 11 August 2023 | Withdrew |
| Alen Smailagić | Partizan Mozzart Bet | 24 July 2023 | 15 August 2023 | Injured |
| Uroš Trifunović | Partizan Mozzart Bet | 24 July 2023 | 15 August 2023 | Injured |
| Dušan Beslać | Vojvodina | 24 July 2023 | 16 August 2023 | Roster cut |
| Nikola Topić | OKK Beograd | 24 July 2023 | 16 August 2023 | Roster cut |
| Aleksa Radanov | Peristeri | 24 July 2023 | 22 August 2023 | Roster cut |

## Exhibition games

Before the World Cup Serbia will play eight exhibition games. First set will include three closed games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland in Belgrade on 1 and 3 August, and against Montenegro in Podgorica on 5 August. After them team will move to Greece in order to play in 2023 Acropolis of Athens Tournament against Greece on 8 August and Italy on 9 August. After returning from Greece Serbia will play another exhibition game in Belgrade, on 16 August, against Puerto Rico. At the end of August team will leave for China where they will play their last two exhibition games against China on 20 August and Brazil on 21 August.
* 1 August 2023
| Serbia | vs. | Bosnia and Herzegovina |
| Played behind closed doors |||
* Belgrade
* 3 August 2023
| Serbia | vs. | Poland |
| Played behind closed doors |||
* Belgrade
* 5 August 2023
| Montenegro | vs. | Serbia |
| Canceled |||
* Podgorica

### 2023 Acropolis International Basketball Tournament

* 8 August 2023
* Report
| Greece | 64–71 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 13–16, 22–23, 14–18, 15–14 |||
| Pts: Rogkavopoulos 19 Rebs: Mitoglou 10 Asts: Walkup 10 | | Pts: Bogdanović 15 Rebs: Milutinov 12 Asts: Bogdanović 5 |
* O.A.C.A. Olympic Hall, Athens Referees: Tsolakos, Somos, Tsimpouris
* 9 August 2023
* Report
| Italy | 89–88 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–32, 25–15, 26–23, 19–18 |||
| Pts: Fontecchio 13 Rebs: Polonara 11 Asts: Severini 5 | | Pts: N. Jović 18 Rebs: N. Jović 7 Asts: Gudurić 6 |
* O.A.C.A. Olympic Hall, Athens Referees: Papapetrou, Tziopanos, Agrafiotis
* 16 August 2023
* Report
| Serbia | 110–75 | Puerto Rico |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–13, 39–12, 24–21, 21–29 |||
| Pts: Dobrić 23 Rebs: N. Jović 8 Asts: S. Jović 11 | | Pts: Waters 11 Rebs: Romero 6 Asts: Thompson 4 |
* Štark Arena, Belgrade Attendance: 12,526 Referees: Glišić, Jevtović, Pešić
* 20 August 2023
* Report
| China | 64–87 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 12–23, 16–20, 23–22, 13–22 |||
| Pts: M. Hu 14 Rebs: Z. Wang, Q. Zhou 6 Asts: J. Zhao 6 | | Pts: Bogdanović 19 Rebs: Petrušev 8 |
* Shenzhen
* 21 August 2023
| Brazil | 85–89 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–21, 18–24, 21–19, 26–25 |||
| Pts: Benite 17 Rebs: Caboclo 8 Asts: Raul Neto 7 | | Pts: Petrušev 17 Rebs: Petrušev 5 Asts: S. Jović 4 |
* Shenzhen

## Tournament

The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup is the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup championship that is organized by FIBA.

### Preliminary round

Serbia was drawn into Group B with South Sudan, China, and the Puerto Rico and will play all of its group phase matches in Quezon City at the Araneta Coliseum from 26 to 30 August.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Serbia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 314 | 223 | +91 | 6 | Second round |
| 2 | Puerto Rico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 285 | 279 | +6 | 5 | Second round |
| 3 | South Sudan | 3 | 1 | 2 | 268 | 285 | −17 | 4 | 17th–32nd classification |
| 4 | China | 3 | 0 | 3 | 221 | 301 | −80 | 3 | 17th–32nd classification |

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Ground | H | A | A |
| Result | W | W | W |
| Position | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Last updated: 30 August 2023. Source: Competitive matches Ground: A = Away; H = Home; R = Rest. Result: L = Loss; W = Win; R = Rest; P = Postponed.

#### China

This will be the first game between Serbia and China in the World Cup. The Serbians won two of the three Olympic Games matches: 1996 as Yugoslavia and 2016 as Serbia. The Chinese won in the 2004 Olympics.
* 26 August 2023 20:00 (UTC+8)
* Boxscore
| Serbia | 105–63 | China |
| Scoring by quarter: 25–14, 30–20, 22–13, 28–16 |||
| Pts: Bogdanović, Marinković 14 Rebs: Milutinov, Ristić 6 Asts: Gudurić, S. Jović 6 | | Pts: Zhao R. 17 Rebs: Cui, Zhou 5 Asts: Zhao J. 6 |
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 7,292 Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Andris Aunkrogers (LAT), Rabah Noujaim (LBN)

#### Puerto Rico

This will be the second game between Puerto Rico and Serbia in the World Cup. The Serbians won their last meeting in 2019 and also won in the final of the 2016 FIBA Men's Olympic Qualifying Tournament and in the semi-finals of the 2020 edition of the said tournament.
* 28 August 2023 20:00
* Boxscore
| Puerto Rico | 77–94 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–27, 12–30, 31–18, 19–19 |||
| Pts: Piñeiro 14 Rebs: Conditt 11 Asts: Waters 9 | | Pts: Bogdanović, N. Jović 17 Rebs: Milutinov 15 Asts: S. Jović 6 |
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 2,944 Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Leandro Zalazar (ARG), Carlos Peralta (ECU)

#### South Sudan

This will be the first competitive game between South Sudan and Serbia.
* 30 August 2023 16:00
* Boxscore
| South Sudan | 83–115 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 20–30, 19–26, 26–27, 18–32 |||
| Pts: Jok 21 Rebs: Omot 5 Asts: Jones 6 | | Pts: N. Jović 25 Rebs: Milutinov 10 Asts: S. Jović 13 |
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Kerem Baki (TUR), Rabah Noujaim (LBN)

### Second round

Serbia qualified for the Group I where it will play against first two teams from preliminary round group A Dominican Republic and Italy and will play all of its group phase matches in Quezon City at the Araneta Coliseum from 1 to 3 September.
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Italy | 5 | 4 | 1 | 404 | 370 | +34 | 9 | Quarter-finals |
| 2 | Serbia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 502 | 380 | +122 | 9 | Quarter-finals |
| 3 | Puerto Rico | 5 | 3 | 2 | 444 | 449 | −5 | 8 | |
| 4 | Dominican Republic | 5 | 3 | 2 | 425 | 444 | −19 | 8 | |
* 1 2 Italy 1–0 Serbia
* 1 2 Puerto Rico 1–0 Dominican Republic

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 |
| Ground | H | A |
| Result | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 2 |
Last updated: 3 September 2023. Source: Competitive matches Ground: A = Away; H = Home; R = Rest. Result: L = Loss; W = Win; R = Rest; P = Postponed.

#### Italy

* 1 September 2023 16:00
* Boxscore
| Serbia | 76–78 | Italy |
| Scoring by quarter: 19–23, 23–17, 20–19, 14–19 |||
| Pts: Bogdanović 18 Rebs: Milutinov 12 Asts: Bogdanović 4 | | Pts: Fontecchio 30 Rebs: Fontecchio 7 Asts: Pajola 6 |
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: Antonio Conde (ESP), Luis Castillo (ESP), Martin Vulić (CRO)

#### Dominican Republic

* 3 September 2023 20:00
* Boxscore
| Dominican Republic | 79–112 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 15–29, 20–27, 18–31, 26–25 |||
| Pts: Towns 25 Rebs: Towns 7 Asts: Montero 4 | | Pts: Bogdanović 20 Rebs: S. Jović 6 Asts: S. Jović 7 |
* Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 6,616 Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Luis Castillo (ESP), Gatis Saliņš (LAT)

### Final round
#### Quarterfinal

This was the second game between Lithuania and Serbia in the World Cup. The Lithuanians won the first meeting in 2010. The Lithuanians also won in the semi-finals of EuroBasket 2015, which was the last competitive game between the two teams.
* 5 September 2023 16:45
* Boxscore
| Lithuania | 68–87 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 25–24, 13–25, 17–24, 13–14 |||
| Pts: Sedekerskis 14 Rebs: Sedekerskis 9 Asts: Jokubaitis 9 | | Pts: Bogdanović 21 Rebs: Petrušev 6 Asts: Gudurić 6 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Attendance: 6,223 Referees: Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Mārtiņš Kozlovskis (LAT), Johnny Batista (PUR)

#### Semifinal

This was the first competitive game between Serbia and Canada.
* 8 September 2023 16:45
* Boxscore
| Serbia | 95–86 | Canada |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–15, 29–24, 23–24, 20–23 |||
| Pts: Bogdanović 23 Rebs: Milutinov 10 Asts: S. Jović 5 | | Pts: Barrett 23 Rebs: five players 3 Asts: Gilgeous-Alexander 9 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Attendance: 8,630 Referees: Yohan Rosso (FRA), Julio Anaya (PAN), Manuel Mazzoni (ITA)

#### Final

This was the second game between Germany and Serbia in the World Cup. The Germans won the first meeting in 2010. The Germans also went 2–0 in their head-to-head matchups in the first round of the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup European Qualifiers.
* 10 September 2023 20:40
* Boxscore
| Germany | 83–77 | Serbia |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–26, 24–21, 22–10, 14–20 |||
| Pts: Schröder 28 Rebs: Voigtmann 8 Asts: Voigtmann 3 | | Pts: Avramović 21 Rebs: N. Jović 8 Asts: Bogdanović 5 |
* Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay Attendance: 12,022 Referees: Roberto Vázquez (PUR), Omar Bermúdez (MEX), Gatis Saliņš (LAT)

## Statistics
### Player statistics

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | EF |
| Aleksa Avramović | 7 | 0 | 17.3 | .636 | .263 | .880 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 11.3 | 11.9 |
| Bogdan Bogdanović | 8 | 8 | 27.8 | .644 | .423 | .853 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 19.1 | 21.6 |
| Dejan Davidovac | 8 | 0 | 15.3 | .750 | .273 | .375 | 2.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 6.9 |
| Ognjen Dobrić | 8 | 7 | 20.4 | .645 | .192 | .800 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 8.4 | 7.1 |
| Marko Gudurić | 8 | 0 | 17.1 | .812 | .412 | .864 | 2.1 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 8.3 | 10.6 |
| Nikola Jović | 8 | 8 | 23.9 | .704 | .423 | .769 | 3.0 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 10.1 | 12.0 |
| Stefan Jović | 8 | 8 | 21.6 | .583 | .278 | .571 | 2.0 | 5.6 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 5.9 | 10.0 |
| Vanja Marinković | 8 | 1 | 16.0 | .545 | .452 | .889 | 1.3 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 7.8 | 7.3 |
| Nikola Milutinov | 8 | 8 | 24.5 | .661 | .000 | .793 | 8.4 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12.1 | 19.5 |
| Filip Petrušev | 6 | 0 | 13.8 | .762 | .600 | .800 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 8.2 | 10.8 |
| Dušan Ristić | 5 | 0 | 8.7 | .556 | .833 | .333 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 5.4 | 5.8 |
| Boriša Simanić | 3 | 0 | 6.5 | 1.000 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 |
| Total | 8 | 8 | 200.0 | .667 | .377 | .783 | 34.1 | 23.6 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 95.1 | 117.9 |
Last updated: 10 September 2023. Source: 2023 Serbia team