Serbia beat Iceland 102-73 to open the second round of World Cup qualifying, but the final score told only part of the story. Nikola Jokić admitted the captaincy already feels different, Nikola Tanasković provided the spark, and now attention turns to a familiar problem – Italy.
Job done.
That’s the simplest way to describe Serbia’s 102-73 win over Iceland at the start of the second round of World Cup qualifying.
The final score, however, hardly tells the story of the night.
Iceland hung around for three quarters and at one point cut the deficit to seven. Serbia didn’t underestimate Iceland – a mistake some favorites have made in the past.
And Serbia can be certain of one thing: when the return game takes them to the north of Europe, it will be considerably more difficult.
The Scoreline Hid Some Problems
The key statistical number was exactly what Martin Hermannsson pointed to after the game: Iceland’s dreadful three-point shooting.
They went just 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.
That helped Serbia more than a little – and also covered up some defensive issues.
There had already been stretches against France when opponents found it too easy to break Serbia’s first line of defense and then use quick ball movement to create an advantage. The same thing happened at times against Iceland, with Neptūnas point guard Elvar Friðriksson running the show.
Iceland simply missed too many of the open looks it created.
Combined with a more aggressive Serbian approach as the game progressed, those misses allowed the hosts to take control in the second quarter and never truly give it back.
Jokić Feels the Weight of the Captaincy
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“It feels a little different now that I’m the captain. There is some pressure,” Nikola Jokić admitted to Serbian reporters in the mixed zone.
His night started slowly, but Jokić gradually imposed himself on the glass and became sharper with his passing as Serbia found its rhythm.
Still, the player of the game was another Nikola.
Nikola Tanasković changed the energy after coming off the bench. He grabbed five offensive rebounds, produced two eye-catching drives to the rim and knocked down all four of his three-point attempts.
Nemanja Dangubić and Arijan Lakić added a defensive spark from the bench, while Nikola Jović consistently made the right decisions.
Marko Gudurić, meanwhile, played an exceptionally clean game – without a single unnecessary play. Serbia made its decisive run early in the fourth quarter with Gudurić as the primary ball-handler.
Serbia Without the Roar
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There were 12,384 people inside Belgrade Arena, but it rarely sounded like it.
The arena announcer repeatedly tried, mostly without success, to get the crowd on its feet. It is something Serbia often runs into at home. Nobody can question how much the national team means to the people in the stands, but without an organized group to lead the support, sustained noise can be difficult to generate.
When the game is close, the crowd naturally gets involved. This one never really got there.
At times, you could hear sneakers squeaking on the floor and instructions coming from the benches.
Belgrade Arena isn’t used to that.
Serbia may not have had much of a tailwind from the stands, but the team kept raising the tempo on the floor.
And as Serbia’s lead grew in the fourth quarter, more and more phones lit up in the stands.
Attention had shifted to Tuzla.
Serbian fans eventually got exactly the result they wanted: Bosnia and Herzegovina beat Italy. Earlier, Turkey had defeated Lithuania – another result that worked in Serbia’s favor.
Now Comes Italy
On Monday, Alimpijević’s team travels to Pesaro.
Italy will be desperate to respond at home after the defeat in Tuzla. And Serbia knows all too well how dangerous this matchup can be.
The Italians have beaten Serbia in several important games in recent years.
“They obviously have a recipe for playing against Serbia over the last few years,” Alimpijević said. “We’ll try to neutralize some of their tendencies. I don’t even know if they’re missing anyone. I think this is the strongest roster they can put together.”
The strange reality of the FIBA windows means Serbia could do only so much advance preparation.
“Eighty to 90 percent of our preparation will be based on their game against Bosnia and Herzegovina because this roster has nothing to do with the teams they had in the previous windows,” Alimpijević explained.
“That’s another characteristic of this system – you have to wait for the game, and then you have only three days to prepare.”
The first batches of tickets for next year’s World Cup have already gone on sale.
Beat Italy in Pesaro, and Serbian fans might be forgiven for starting to look at them a little more seriously.
And maybe checking hotel prices while they’re at it.