The Olympiacos big man played a big role in the decisive run
Filip Petrusev made his presence count for Serbia
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South Sudan was looking to complete a comeback on Saturday when Serbia head coach Svetislav Pesic looked to his bench in the fourth quarter. After Marial Shayok made it 78-74, Pesic brought in four new players over the next two whistles.
First came in the guards: Marko Guduric of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul and former EuroLeague MVP Vasa Misic. Then the bigs: NBA MVP Nikola Jokic and Olympiacos Piraeus’s Filip Petrusev. Joining them on the floor was Ognjen Dobric of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade. The result was a game-deciding 13-0 run.
While Micic keyed the run with 7 points, Petrusev more than did his part with a basket, an assist to Micic and a pair of blocked shots. By the time South Sudan scored again, Serbia already had the game in the bag.
Petrusev finished the game with 10 points on 4-for-4 two-point shooting, 2 assists and 2 blocks in 20 minutes. His +/- of 12 was third on the team training only two teammates from the deciding run: Dobric (15) and Guduric (14).
While Bogdan Bogdanovic (30 points and 8 assists) and Jokic (22 points and 13 rebounds) posted the big numbers for Serbia, the defense contributed by the trio of Petrusev, Dobric and Guduric proved equally as important as Serbia cemented its spot in the quarterfinals.