Serbia banks on Jokic in OT to enter Olympic Semis

Serbia banked on Nikola Jokic in overtime to eliminate Australia 95-90 and book a ticket to the Olympics men’s basketball tournament semifinals held at the Bercy Arena in Paris on Tuesday, August 6 (Manila Time).

In the first half of play, the Serbians trailed by as much as 24 points but surged back in the second half to have a toe-to-toe game against Australia.

Serbia almost took the game in regulation but Patty Mills, with two seconds left in the game clock made his fade-away jumper to tie the game at 82 and forced the game into overtime.

Jokic hit the go-ahead basket with a minute and seven seconds remaining in overtime before hitting his signature fadeaway shot over the outstretched arm of Duop Reath with 25 seconds left in the extension.

The Boomers had a chance to equalize or just trim the lead to one but Josh Giddey made an inbound error that led to two free throws for Bogdan Bogdanovic that eventually sealed the game.

Nikola Jokic led the way for Serbia with his almost triple-double performance tallying 21 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, dishing off nine assists and having four steals while Patty Mills led the Boomers with 26 points.

Serbia is now waiting for the winner of the USA-Brazil match-up for their semi-finals battle.