Serbia went 2-1 in the group stage to advance to the knockout stage as the second-ranked team from Group C. They opened up with the toughest possible game, facing the United States for the second time in weeks. Just as the warmup game went, Serbia were unable to hang with the Americans, losing 110-84. Nikola Jokić didn’t get much support, his teammates shooting just 23-for-59, which is 39 percent.

Serbia faced Puerto Rico next and had a much better time. They led by 12 points after the first quarter and never looked back, winning 107-66. They spread the scoring around to an impressive degree, with seven players hitting double digits in points. The faced South Sudan next, knowing a win would guarantee them a spot in the quarterfinals. The game was close the whole way but thanks to Bogdan Bogdanović’s 30 points, Serbia prevailed 96-85.

Serbia’s momentum came to a screeching halt in the quarterfinals as they found themselves down as many as 24 points during the first half against Australia. They managed to turn the momentum and slowly chip away at the deficit, eventually taking the lead by the end of the third quarter. Serbia actually held the lead late before a clutch shot from Patty Mills forced overtime. Jokić took over in OT, recording 4 points, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 assist and 1 rebound in the extra five minutes as Serbia survived 95-90.