Basketball: Jokic triple-double secures Serbia’s first Olympic bronze

Nikola Jokic’s triple-double led Serbia to win their first Olympic bronze medal in the men’s basketball tournament when they defeated the reigning FIBA World Cup champions Germany, 93-83.

Jokic scored 19 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and dished off 11 assists to secure the first bronze for their country in the Paris Games.

Vasile Micic backed-up Jokic with his 19 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 16 markers.

Meanwhile, Germany was led by Franz Wagner with 19 points while Mortiz Wagner tallied 16.

The game was a rematch of the 2023 FIBA World Cup finals, which was won by Germany. But this time the Serbians showed their might in the hardcourt and even erected as much as 19-points in the third period, just enough cushion to secure the victory.

Germany made a late rally in the final canto and trimmed the lead to only eight but Serbia responded with an 11-4 run to push back the lead to double digits.

After winning the medal, Bogdan Bogdanovic said that Serbia was not concerned about repeating history from last year’s World Cup.

“We had more confidence. We know what Nikola is bringing to the table for us,” Bogdanovic said. “We continued to play team basketball. We continued to play our way. And we are unafraid. Our mindset, our mentality, we had a great tournament and we wanted to close it out with a win.”