Following a narrow victory over Croatia in Wednesday’s quarterfinals, Bogdan Bogdanovic and Serbia cruised to a blowout win over Australia in Friday’s semifinals contest.
While Bogdanovic wasn’t able to replicate his prolific scoring performance from Wednesday, the Serbian’s offense thrived on 53-percent from the field en route to a 26-point triumph. In addition to red-hot scoring, Serbia smothered the Australian offense, holding the team to just 14 total points in the game’s first 20 minutes.
By game’s end, Australia tallied just 61 points – its first point total under 80 in the Olympic Tournament.
Serbia will now face DeMarcus Cousins and Team USA in a rematch of a Preliminary Round thriller in which the U.S. escaped with a 94-91 victory.
The three-point win marks the narrowest margin of victory for the U.S. in Rio, with Bogdanovic having a chance to tie the contest in the game’s final possession.
Though his buzzer-beating three-point attempt missed, the 6-foot-6 guard is known for his clutch scoring, labeled as a “flat out, cold-blooded assassin” by international basketball reporter David Pick.
Sunday’s rematch with a championship on the line will begin at 11:45 a.m. PDT with coverage available via NBCSN.
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