By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Serbia, the team most expected to challenge the USA squad for the FIBA World Cup, was eliminated by Argentina, 97-87, in their quarterfinals showdown.
Argentina began the game shooting the lights out from the three-point range and putting on a pick and roll clinic with Facundo Campazzo and NBA veteran Luis Scola.
The savvy Scola recently moved up to second all-time in scoring in FIBA World Cup history, showing his array of moves down the block to give the Serbian front-line a hard time containing him.
With Scola’s efficiency in the paint, Serbia resorted to doubling him, freeing up Argentinian shooters that sank almost 50 percent from deep.
NBA stars Nikola Jokic and Bogdan Bogdanovic put up impressive numbers in a losing effort, scoring 16 and 21 respectively.
The Argentinian squad awaits the winner between USA and France for their semifinals showdown.