Serbia Suffers First Defeat at the FIBA World Cup From Spain

Bogdan Bogdanovic with Serbia in 2019
Bogdan Bogdanovic with Serbia in 2019. Photo by Nikola Krstic/Shutterstock (10359146t)

In this week’s derby match, one of the main favorites for the gold medal at the FIBA World Cup, Serbia suffered their first defeat to Spain, losing the first spot in the group in the process. With this defeat, Serbia will face the undefeated Argentina in the quarter-finals. Serbia won the first quarter with 13-20, only to concede an incredible 32 points before half-time.  

In the second half, Serbia’s main player Nikola Jokic was given his 2nd technical foul and after an argument with the referee, he was removed from the game. Shortly after his removal, Spain reached their highest 21 points difference (63-42), but soon Serbia bounced back after a 14-4 run before the end of the 3rd quarter. 

With the 4th quarter underway, the Serbians tried to overcome the double-digit deficit, but the former European champions are an experienced team and they managed to hold off their opponents, maintaining a 6 to 10 points lead until the end. Thee game ended with a final score of 91-69. 

Ricky Rubio led the Red Furies with 19 points, followed by Victor Claver who scored 14. Bogdan Bogdanovic was the highest scorer for Serbia with 26 points.