Dallas Mavericks: Boban Marjanovic and Serbia win to finish 5th at World Cup

Dallas Mavericks big man Boban Marjanovic and Serbia picked up a win over the Czech Republic to finish fifth at the World Cup.

Dallas Mavericks supporters enjoyed the 2019 FIBA World Cup. Two current Mavs played in the tournament. Center Boban Marjanovic was representing Serbia, and Maxi Kleber played for Germany. The Germans were eliminated in the first round. Serbia fell in the quarterfinals but hoped to bounce back and finish fifth.

Their final game was against the Czech Republic on Saturday. The winner would take fifth making the loser sixth. Here is a look at how that game shook out.

Serbia wins

After a back and forth first half, Serbia stepped up with a dominating third quarter to grab control against the Czech Republic. They rode that momentum to a 90-81 victory on Sept. 14. Bogdan Bogdanovic led the way for Serbia with 31 points in the win.

Boban Marjanovic played the final two minutes and two seconds of the second quarter. He brought his usual energy. Marjanovic had three points, one rebound, one turnover, and two fouls. He made three of his four free throws. Bobi only played that short burst in the second period.

Serbia was disappointed to finish fifth. They will now have to play in a pre-Olympic qualifying tournament to attempt to secure a spot in next summer’s massive event.

Marjanovic saw action in all eight of Serbia’s games at the World Cup. He averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game in China. Bobi will continue to be a change of pace option at center for his country.

Saturday’s game wrapped up the World Cup for the Dallas Mavericks. The two medal games take place on Sept. 15 to complete the event. It was an exciting tournament filled with plenty of upsets. Fans should be looking forward to the Olympics next summer.

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