Bogdan Bogdanovic produced another 20-point effort, and Filip Petrusev put up his best outing of the tournament to lead Serbia past Lithuania, 87-68, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
Bogdanovic recorded a game-high 21 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals Tuesday. He scored 18 points in the first half as Serbia raced to an 11-point lead at halftime. The Italians pushed their advantage to as many as 25 points in the second half.
The 20-point game was his third of the tournament.
Petrusev scored 17 points, six rebounds and two assists, and Stefan Jovic added 11 points for Serbia. The 17-point effort from Petrusev marked a tournament high in scoring and was his second straight game in double figures.
📺 Serbia enter the Semi-Finals for the third time over the last four editions of the World Cup after eliminating Lithuania!#FIBAWC x #WinForSrbija 🇷🇸 pic.twitter.com/CyJRV4Ni9d
— FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 🏆 (@FIBAWC) September 5, 2023
With the win, Serbia will face either Canada or Slovenia in the semifinals on Friday in Manila, Philippines (4:45 a.m. EDT). Serbia and the United States punched their tickets to the next round in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
Serbia is one of four European countries still in contention in the tournament. With two Olympic berths going to the region, Serbia could clinch a spot in the Games for the first time since 2016, depending on the outcomes of the two games on Wednesday.
The country has medaled once in the World Cup (2014, silver).
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