Host Serbia started with a good team win over Puerto Rico in the Olympic Qualifying tournament in Serbia.
Bogdan Bogdanovic started the tournament well in Serbia. This will give a little bit of hope to the Phoenix Suns fans who are watching this tournament.
Bogdanovic played 26 minutes for Serbia, scoring 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting in the host nation’s 87-81 win over Puerto Rico. Bogdanovic collected seven rebounds and five assists also.
This bodes well for Bogdanovic when he does come into the NBA; he is an incredibly gifted all-around athlete who will shine from day one.
Nikola Jokic played 21 minutes and also scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Jokic also collected a game-high eight rebounds.
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Unfortunately for the Boston Celtics fans, Rade Zagoric did not play, so they could not get their first look at him since he was drafted.
Serbia put in a good team effort, with five players scoring in double figures.
For Puerto Rico, J.J. Barea scored 10 points on 3-of-11 shooting in 25 minutes, as well as handing out three assists.
Former NBA player Carlos Arroyo played 21 minutes and scored seven points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Maurice Harkless and Shabazz Napier did not play for Puerto Rico .
Puerto Rico surprisingly had more rebounds, 40-34. They also had more steals, 13-9, and the bench scored more than the Serbian reserves.
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Serbia had greater ball movement with 25 assists to 11 for Puerto Rico. They had more fast break points, 18-13. Serbia had also more point production inside the paint, outscoring Puerto Rico by a 50-28 margin.
They also converted the 21 turnovers of Puerto Rico to 28 points, compared to 19 points from the 15 turnovers the Serbia committed.
Getting the first win is vital in this pool as they are all ranked 16th in the world or better. Serbia should not have problem getting through to the semi finals and once there they should not have any issues beating the Pool B team that they are up against.
Puerto Rico now must beat Angola to give themselves a chance to get into the semi finals.
Serbia plays Angola on the final day of the round robin while Puerto Rico plays Angola on the second day of this Olympic Qualifying.
Latvia 88, Japan 48
In the other game, between Latvia played Japan, embarrassing the Japanese. Latvia played without the rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis, who is not playing in this tournament.
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David Bertans was drafted 42nd overall by the
back in 2011 and he showed why the Pacers showed interest in him back then.
Bertans scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting in only 18 minutes.
The Latvians out rebounded the Japanese 48-to-29. They also moved the ball well with 23 assists to the Japanese who had 10 assists. The Latvians also pressured the ball well, getting 10 steals compared to the Japanese who only got five.
The Latvians used their size to advantage, winning the points in the paint by 34-14. The Latvian depth also showed through as their bench scored 46 to Japan’s 15.
Latvia would have been a stronger team with Porzingis in it, however, they will probably make the final of this tournament but I cannot see them beating Serbia in the final, with or without Porzingis.
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Latvia takes on the Czech Republic on day two of the tournament and Japan plays the Czechs in the final game.