Serbia beat Brazil to march into semi-final

Vladimir Stimac (R) of Serbia shoots against Rafael Hettsheimer (L) of Brazil during the quarter final match

Madrid, Sep 11 (IANS) Serbia showed why they are a team to be feared as they crushed Brazil 84-56 in the quarter-finals of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Brazil went into the game Wednesday as clear favourites after having beaten the Serbs 73-81 in the group stage.

However, the Brazilians failed to gauge the combative nature of the Serbs, coached by former Real Madrid hero Sasha Djordjevic and the attacking effectiveness of point guard, Milos Teodosic, who scored 23 points and gave four assists in 29 minutes on court.

The Serb point guard looked to control the game from the start and although the Brazilians were able to cling on and even move 23-21 ahead at the start of the second quarter, Serbia's dominance was clear by the fact that Anderson Varejao and Marquinhos Vieira were the only Brazilians to score in double figures, finishing with 12 points each.

Nene Hilario inspired Brazil to a run of uninterrupted points, but Serbia led 37-32 at halftime and stretched their lead from then on after Splitter and Nene were both out with technical fouls which allowed Serbia to net five consecutive free throws and with a 48-34 lead, and the match was as good as over.

Serbia extended their advantage to 53-36 and then 66-44 and there was no way back for Brazil who miss out on the semi-finals for the seventh time, while the Serbs have reached the last four times in the last five World Cups.