Serbia will live and die with Bogdan Bogdanovic shooting threes.
The dead-shot Serbian’s long-range sniping will be critical in the squad’s last push to claim the FIBA Basketball World Cup title against Germany tonight at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Bogdanovic’s sweet touch has brought Serbia this far in the tournament and won’t be holding back, especially with the golden opportunity to end a 21-year championship drought.
“Just shoot more. There will be some bad games, everybody has a bad game, and you cannot lose confidence. Never. You just have to shoot like it’s in the playground,” the Atlanta Hawks shooting guard said.
The 31-year-old displayed his expert marksmanship in putting away the Canadians in the semifinal on Friday, scoring 23 points including hitting 3-of-4 from the beyond the arc as the Serbians walked away with a 95-86 win for a return ticket to the final after a runner-up finish in 2014 in Spain.
So far, Bogdanovic has been amazing in the tournament.
He is now the outright player with the longest run of games with a 3-pointer made in the FIBA World Cup over the last 30 years with 24 consecutive matches.
“It feels amazing. Basketball has changed. I think there’s a lot more threes and we are also playing faster and my work ethic altogether,” he said. “I think I didn’t come every year (thinking) I’m gonna break this record but I’m happy that I achieved that.”
The top Most Valuable Player contender as of last Friday has accumulated 427 points in the FIBA World Cup, overtaking 2002 MVP Dirk Nowitzki of Germany by two points at fifth spot overall.
