During the semifinal match between Serbia and the USA, it often seemed as if Nikola Jokic and his team would fight for the gold medal and achieve an incredible surprise victory against the NBA superteam.
But after squandering a 17-point lead, the Serbs are now fighting for the bronze medal and will be looking to make up for their missed opportunity in a repeat of last year’s FIBA World Cup final against Germany.
The Germans had won 12 consecutive international competitions before Thursday’s semifinal against France, whom they beat by 14 points in group play the previous week. History did not repeat itself, however, as the French outscored Germany 38-25 in the second and third quarters before converting crucial free throws in the closing stages to survive a comeback attempt by the Germans, who were led by Dennis Schröder’s 18 points.
Still, Germany has a chance to bring home its first medal in men’s Olympic basketball if it can slow down Serbia’s three-time NBA MVP. Easier said than done considering Jokic’s supporting cast has made great strides of late. Serbia, which ranks second only to the United States in points per game, gets 18.8 points per game from Bogdan Bogdanovic and solid playmaking from veteran guard Vasilije Micic (5.0 assists per game).
Former Gonzaga star Filip Petrusev is second behind Jokic with 5.0 rebounds per game. Petrusev scored nine points in the semifinals and entered Saturday averaging 9.4 points in 22.5 minutes per game. His best performance came in a win over Puerto Rico: 15 points, nine rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes.
With a win on Saturday, Petrusev would join Gonzaga legend and Hall of Fame point guard John Stockton as the only Zags players to win a medal in men’s Olympic basketball.
For Germany, Franz Wagner shares the goal burden with Schröder with 18.0 points per game.
HOW TO WATCH SERBIA VS GERMANY
What: Serbia will face Germany in the bronze medal match in Olympic men’s basketball
When: 5 a.m. ET/ 2 a.m. PT on Saturday, August 10
Where: Bercy Arena | Paris, France
Live stream: Watch the 2024 Olympics live on Peacock
Betting odds per SI Sports Betting: Serbia -2.5 (-105); O/U 170.5 (-110)
PLAYER LISTS
Team Serbia:
* Bogdan Bogdanovic
* Nikola Jokic
* Nikola Milutinov
* Vasilije Micic
* Nikola Jović
* Ognjen Dobric
* Vanja Marinkovic
* Marko Guduric
* Filip Petrusev
* Aleksa Avramovic
* Dejan Davidovac
* Uros Plavsic
Team Germany:
* Isaac Bonga
* Oscar da Silva
* Maodo Lo
* Niels Giffey
* Nick Weiler-Babb
* Johannes Voigtmann
* Franz Wagner
* Daniel Theis
* Moritz Wagner
* Dennis Schröder
* Johannes Thiemann
* Andreas Obst
