Despite Jokic's good performance, Serbia loses in pre-Olympic friendly

Nikola Jokic recorded another double-double in his career, totaling 14 points and 14 rebounds, but his performance was not enough to secure the victory of Serbia in a friendly match in preparation for the Paris Olympics. This Tuesday (16), in Abu DhabiThe Australia emerged victorious, beating the Serbs 84 to 73. The highlight of the match was the Australian point guard Patty Millswho scored 28 points and distributed five assists.

Serbia and Australia are in Abu Dhabi taking part in an exhibition tournament organised by the national team. U.S. The Australians faced the US Dream Team on Monday and played a close game, but ended up losing 98-92. Serbia will face the Americans on Wednesday (17), at 1 pm.

At the Paris Olympics, Australia and Serbia will be in different groups. Australia, the bronze medalist at Tokyo 2020, will face Greece, Canada It is Spain in Group A. Serbia, silver medallist at Rio 2016, will play against Southern Sudan, Puerto Rico and the United States in Group C. The top two teams from each of the three groups will advance to the quarterfinals, as will the two best third-placed teams.

How was the game between Serbia and Australia?

The first 10 minutes of the game were marked by a strong defensive performance by both teams, limiting the effectiveness of the attacks. Australia held the lead for most of the half, with Patty Mills standing out. At 35, she will be playing in her fifth Olympic Games and scored six of Australia's first eight points in the friendly against Serbia.

The second quarter started similarly to the first, with the defenses coming out on top and forcing mistakes. Australia continued to push ahead, preventing Serbia from taking the lead. However, in the final stretch, Serbia managed to steal the ball and, with a last-second basket, went into the break leading 40-39.

After the break, the score changed several times. Australia regained the lead in the first few moments, saw Serbia take the lead, but managed to come back again and went into the fourth quarter winning 62-59. The Serbs suffered from a low three-point shooting rate, hitting just 16% until the third quarter.

Just like in the last quarter against the United States, Australia dominated Serbia. Led by Patty Mills and taking advantage of their opponents' nervousness, who continued to shoot poorly from three-point range (13.6% overall), the Australians opened up an advantage and won 84-73. At the end, there was a tense moment, with a scuffle between Josh Giddey It is Marko Gudurić.