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Serbia has released its 12-man roster for the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup later this week. Bogdan Bogdanovic of the Atlanta Hawks headlines Serbia's squad, as Nikola Jokic will be absent.
The Basketball Federation of Serbia announced its final World Cup roster on Tuesday. They also arrived in Manila, Philippines, earlier in the day and were greeted by fans and media at the airport.
Bogdan Bogdanovic will serve as the team's captain as they try to have a better tournament after a disappointing campaign at the 2022 EuroBasket.
Here's Serbia's 12-man squad:
- Aleksa Avramovic (Partizan Belgrade)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks)
- Dejan Davidovac (Crvena Zvezda)
- Ognjen Dobric (Virtus Bologna)
- Marko Guduric (Fenerbahce Beko)
- Nikola Jovic (Miami Heat)
- Stefan Jovic (Basket Zaragoza)
- Vanja Marinkovic (Saski Baskonia)
- Nikola Milutinov (Olympiacos)
- Filip Petrusev (Philadelphia 76ers)
- Dusan Ristic (Galatasaray)
- Borisa Simanic (Basket Zaragoza)
Serbia is sixth in the world but will be without Nikola Jokic for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Jokic decided to skip the tournament to rest his body after a grueling campaign for the Denver Nuggets.
"The Joker" played a full season, regular season and playoffs, and led the Nuggets to their first NBA championship. Serbia will also be without former EuroLeague MVP Vasilije Micic, who signed for the OKC Thunder. Micic also wanted to rest and prepare for his first NBA season.
The Eagles still have three NBA players on their roster — Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic and Filip Petrusev. Bogdanovic is the team's best player while Jovic and Petrusev are two of their best young prospects. They will also have to rely on veterans like Nikola Milutinov and Marko Guduric.
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Serbia at the 2023 FIBA World Cup
Serbia is drawn in Group B at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. They will play the group stage at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. They're grouped with debutants South Sudan,China and Puerto Rico.
The Eagles are the favorites to advance to the second round and face one of Philippines, Italy, Angola and Dominican Republic from Group A. The top two teams from Group A and B will form Group I in the second round. The games will be held at the Araneta Coliseum.
The knockouts of the 2023 FIBA World will be played at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Serbia won the silver the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain and finished fifth at the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China.
