Serbia fends off Puerto Rico, grabs solo lead in Group B

World no. 6 Serbia flexed its might against gallant Puerto Rico as the European powerhouse picked up a 94-77 victory to emerge as the solo leader in Group B of the 2023 FIBA World Cup on Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Serbia improved to 2-0 while Puerto Rico, which defeated South Sudan the other day, slipped to an even 1-1 slate.

The Serbians led by as many as 32 points but Puerto Rico staged a third quarter rally, outscoring the Nikola Jokic-less Serbian squad, 31 to 18, to head to the fourth staring at a 17-point deficit.

Puerto Rico even cut that even further to just 10 points, 81-71, after a Tremont Waters layup to give Serbia a scare late in the game.

But the momentum eventually swung back to Serbia courtesy of a 10-0 run fueled by the Atlanta Hawks' Bogdan Bogdanovic and capped by a triple from Vanja Marinkovic for another 20-point cushion, 91-71 with 2:40 left.

Bogdanovic paced Serbia anew with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, and two steals while Nikola Jovic had 17 markers, three boards, and four dimes as they inched closer to group stage sweep.

Serbia will next face South Sudan on Wednesday while Puerto Rico takes on China.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News