(Manila) Led by a 23-point performance from Bogdan Bogdanovic and aided by an accumulation of fouls on key players from its rivals early in the game, Serbia defeated Canada 95-86 in the semifinals of the World Cup FIBA Basketball World Cup on Friday in Manila, Philippines.
Already qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Canadian team hoped to reach the World Cup final for the first time in its history.
However, she remains hopeful of collecting a bronze medal, a feat she can accomplish on Sunday against the losers of the other semi-final, between Germany and the United States, presented later on Friday.
Before 2023, Canada had never finished better than sixth at the World Cup, a feat it achieved in 1978 and 1982.
In the loss, RJ Barrett led Canada (5-2) with 23 points. Dillon Brooks had 16 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 15 points, 10 shy of his per-game average entering the semifinals.
Montreal’s Luguentz Dort finished the game with three points in just over 19 minutes of action.
Ognjen Dobric and Nikola Milutinov scored 16 points each for Serbia (6-1).
The shape of the match, which had been close until then, began to change with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter.
After erasing a seven-point deficit, Canada led 13-12 when first Gilgeous-Alexander and then Dwight Powell took turns picking up their second foul of the game, prompting coach Jordi Fernandez to call them back to the bench.
Just a second after Powell was fouled, Bogdanovich fired a two-point jump shot that eventually gave Serbia a 23-15 lead after the first quarter.
Despite the return to the court of Gilgeous-Alexander at the start of the second quarter, then of Powell midway through the period, the Canadian team saw their rivals not only protect their lead, but even increase it to 52-39 at the end. half-time.
In this first half, Canada amassed 17 fouls compared to 11 for the Serbs. All five of Canada’s starters had collected at least two fouls at halftime.
Faced with this imposing setback, the Canadians started the third quarter with vigor. They were particularly effective defensively, causing several turnovers without converting them all into points on the scoreboard.
On a few occasions, Canada managed to get within seven points of the Serbians before the end of the third quarter, but a streak of seven points to two allowed Serbia to complete the quarter with a lead of 75-63.
The Serbs then scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, and Canada’s gold medal hopes would eventually be extinguished.
Serbia, which participated in the tournament without the services of Nikola Jokic, will appear in a second final in the last three editions of the World Cup. In 2014, they lost to the United States.