36ers pair set for Olympic showdown
Written By
Dale Fletcher
There will be a past and present Adelaide 36ers connection in Paris when the Australian Boomers face Serbia in the men’s quarter final on Tuesday night.
Former NBL Next Star sensation Josh Giddey will be looking to lead the Boomers into the semi-finals, but he will have to get past newly-signed senior assistant coach Marko Marinovic, who will be on the bench for Serbia.
Australia will go into the contest with confidence after the Tokyo bronze medalists defeated Serbia by 11 points in an Olympic warm-up clash in Abu Dhabi last month.
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Marinovic said Australia will be a tough test for Serbia, who boast NBA MVP Nikola Jokic.
“Australia are very good, they beat us recently, but we will be ready next time,” Marinovic said.
“They have some great players, but we are building as a team.”
Serbia qualified for the quarter finals with a 96-85 win against South Sudan, which ended the Olympic tournament for Sunday Dech and the Bright Stars.
South Sudan trailed 47-44 at half-time, but Serbia hot all the big shots, going on a 19-3 run in the last quarter to open up a match-winning 91-74 lead.
The Boomers qualified for the final eight after Canada defeated Spain 88-85 in the final pool match of the group stage, sending Australia through on points differential despite winning only one of their three matches.
>> CLICK HERE FOR LIVE SCORES & STATS
Here's how you can catch all the action of the game against Serbia, whether it's on TV or via live scores & stats.
Australia v Serbia
Bercy Arena
Tip-off from 10pm
Watch: Live via Nine Network & Stan Sport
Scores & stats: Click here
