June Mar Fajardo (R) of the Philippines controls the ball during the group D match between Serbia and the Philippines at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in Foshan, south China's Guangdong Province, Sept. 2, 2019. (Xinhua/Huang Zongzhi)
FOSHAN, China, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Serbia battered the Philippines 126-67 to advance to last 16 along with Italy from Group D at the FIBA Basketball World Cup here on Monday.
As the top-ranked team on the tournament's Power Rankings, Serbia sent an early message to its opponents by winning 105 points from two matches.
Serbia fully displayed its balanced attack with all 12 players contributing in scoring, including seven with double-digit points.
Nemanja Bjelica led Serbiat with 20 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic made four 3-pointers for 17 points. Nikola Jokic registered 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in less than 20 minutes.
After Paul John Dalistan's jumper, the Philippines led by 9-7, but it was the only occasion throughout for its superior position.
As expected, Jokic's substitution midway through the first quarter not only won the applause from the crowds, but helped his team reclaim the lead.
The Denver Nuggets player soon assisted Nikola Milutinov for a dunk, and capped a 9-0 run with a layup. Another layup from the NBA All-star center earned Serbia a double-figure advantage for the first time with 2:24 remaining. Serbia ended the first quarter at 28-13.
The Philippines came back into contention a bit through consecutive layups from Jaymar Perez, but the European powerhouse quickly regrouped itself to pull away again, as Marko Guduric's three-pointer gave them a 48-28 lead before setting the score at 62-35 into halftime.
Bogdanovic, playing in NBA's Sacramento Kings, continued Serbia's firepower shortly after the break with two straight shots beyond the arc to seal the deal.
With unsurmountable margin in hand, Serbia's head coach Sasha Djordjevic decided to give more rest time for his star duo Jokic and Bogdanovic.
Perez had a team-high 16 points. Dalistan contributed 15 points.
In an earlier match, Italy thrashed Angola 92-61. With two wins in as many games, both Serbia and Italy can secure their places in top 16, while the Philippines and Angola are set to play classifications.
