Nikola Jokic led Serbia to a 90-87 victory over France in Belgrade, nearly recording a triple-double with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. Victor Wembanyama struggled with 10 points and 6 turnovers as Serbia led the majority of the game in front of 20,000 fans.
The highly anticipated encounter between Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama concluded tonight at the Belgrade Arena.
Serbia managed to beat France in front of 20,000 fans in attendance, 90-87 (22-19, 24-26, 26-17, 18-25).
Serbia led for the majority of the game, with France managing to take it into the nerve-wracking finish after a sloppy third quarter.
Sylvain Francisco attempted one final three-pointer before the buzzer, but was blocked by Aleksa Avramovic to seal the deal.
Nikola Jokic stats vs. France
Nikola Jokic was the star of the night, finishing close to a triple-double.
Jokic scored 20 points (4/10 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 9/12 FT), grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished out 8 assists in 29 minutes.
Aleksa Avramovic followed that up with 11 points and 5 assists of his own.
Nikola Jovic was also in double digits, as the Miami Heat forward scored 10 points and collected 4 rebounds.
Victor Wembanyama stats vs. Serbia
Victor Wembanyama struggled, finishing with 10 points (2/2 2PT, 1/6 3PT, 3/4 FT), 4 rebounds, and 6 turnovers in 24 minutes on the court.
France was led by Amine Noua, who scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds to lead his team in both categories.
Regarding the NBA players on the French roster, Rudy Gobert had 6 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes, while Maxime Raynaud contributed 4 points and 3 rebounds in 12 minutes.
Rematch and remaining schedule
These two teams will play another game in Orleans on Sunday before the 2027 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers window starts.
Serbia is currently 3rd in Group B of the Second Round with a 3-3 record, and they will play in the first window at home against Iceland on August 28th and away at Italy on August 31st.
France is comfortably first in Group D with a 5-1 record and they will play this August at home against Slovenia on August 27th and away at Sweden on August 30th.
Top three teams from all the Second Round groups in Europe are advancing to the 2027 FIBA World Cup with 6 more rounds in 3 separate windows to go.
Serbia: Nikola Jokic 20 (4/10 2PT, 1/3 3PT, 9/12 FT, 9 REB, 8 AST, 33 EFF), Nikola Milutinov 15 (5/7 2PT, 1/1 3PT, 2/2 FT, 5 REB, 19 EFF), Aleksa Avramovic 13 (1/4 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 5/6 FT, 5 AST, 3 STL, 13 EFF), Ognjen Dobric 12 (2/5 2PT, 2/4 3PT, 2/4 FT, 8 EFF), Nikola Jovic 10 (3/4 2PT, 0/1 3PT, 4/7 FT, 13 EFF).
France: Amine Noua 14 (4/4 2PT, 2/5 3PT, 15 EFF), Sylvain Francisco 13 (1/2 2PT, 2/6 3PT, 5/6 FT, 3 STL, 13 EFF), Victor Wembanyama 10 (2/2 2PT, 1/6 3PT, 3/4 FT, 4 REB, 10 EFF).
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