Serbia romps Dominican Rep for 1st win in OQT

Boban Marjanovic put up a solid double-double performance to lead Serbia over Dominican Republic. FIBA

By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA--Serbia opened its campaign in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament on a high note after romping Dominican Republic, 94-76, early Wednesday (Philippine Time) at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade.

The host nation shut down the Latin American squad in the end as the former's bid to claim one of the last spots for the Tokyo Olympics men's basketball tournament was off to a great start.

Despite the defeat, Dominican Republic put up a great fight especially in the middle two quarters after keeping the game close after Serbia sizzled in the first quarter.

Serbia, however, delivered the killer blow in the final quarter after outscoring Dominican Republic, 27-10, to pull away for good.

NBA veteran Boban Marjanovic led the Serbians with 18 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal.

Young gun Filip Petrusev added 17 markers, three boards, one dime, and one steal.

Serbia will be gunning for a sweep of Group A early Thursday (Philippine Time) against Gilas Pilipinas.

Victor Liz and Michael Cuevas each had 16 points for Dominican Republic.

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