Philadelphia 76ers rookie Filip Petrusev was named to Serbia’s final 12-man roster for the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which is set to begin on Friday across Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines.
Serbia went 4-1 over its five-game exhibition schedule and finished with three straight wins. Petrusev averaged 10.5 points in four appearances, including a 17-point effort on Monday in an 89-85 win against Brazil in China.
The 50th pick in 2021 signed a two-year contract with the 76ers last month after playing the past two seasons overseas. He helped lead Crvena zvezda to the Serbian League title last season by averaging 11 points and 4.9 rebounds on 57.3% shooting from the field.
Nakon završetka svih kontrolnih mečeva, selektor Pešić je odredio konačan sastav reprezentacije 🇷🇸Srbije na @FIBAWC 🏀#FIBAWC #KSS #WinForSrbija pic.twitter.com/rtXMUMmosI
— Košarkaški savez SRB (@KSSrbije) August 22, 2023
Petrusev, who was born in Belgrade, has appeared with the senior team three times after debuting in 2021. He most recently played in the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup European qualifiers, averaging 7.8 points, four rebounds and 1.5 assists in four games.
Serbia will open the FIBA Basketball World Cup against China in Group B on Saturday and then face Puerto Rico on Monday and South Sudan on Aug. 30 in the group phase. The top two teams from each group will advance to the next round.
The FIBA Basketball World Cup will help seven countries qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. The seven spots include the top two teams from the Americas and Europe (not including host France) and one team from Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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