Serbia Stuns Defending Champ Spain; Turkey Nips Slovenia In FIBA Worlds

Istanbul, Turkey (AHN) – Milos Teodosic drilled a deep 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds left, as Serbia knocked out Spain with a thrilling 92-89 win Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Teodosic, 23, struggled from beyond the arc (1-for-7) before draining the game-winner vs. the defending champs. He was one of the two Serbia players suspended for a brawl in an exhibition tilt against Greece.

After Spain tied it at 89-all, following a Mark Gasol dunk, Teodosic, a mainstay of both Serbia’s junior and senior national basketball team, worked to set himself free beyond the top of the key before launching the 3-point bomb from about 27 feet.

Teodosic finished with 12 points, eight assists and five boards, while Novica Velickovic and Marko Keselj each tallied 17 points in the winning effort.

Nenad Krstic of the Oklahoma City Thunder, the other suspended Serb because of the brawl, chipped in 13 points and nine rebounds.

The Spaniards were paced by Juan Carlos Navarro, who had 27 points.

Former Toronto Raptors forward, Jorge Garbajosa, had 18 points and six rebounds and Portland Trail Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez ended with 15 points for Spain.

Serbia moved into the semifinal, where it will host Turkey, which has remained unbeaten following a 95-68 trouncing of Slovenia later Wednesday.

Ersan Ilyasova, who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, led the way for Turkey with 19 points, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point area, and hauled in five boards in the lopsided victory.

Turkey shot a whooping 66.7 percent (32-48) in the field, and converted 10-of-17 from beyond the arc for a high 58.8 percent.

Turkey shrugged off a slow start to finish the first period, 27-14.

The local favorites were up 50-31 at the break and never looked back from there.

Sinan Guler donated 12 points off the bench, while Phoenix Suns’ Hedo Turkoglu had 10 points and seven assists. Kerem Tunceri and Omer Onan also scored 10 for the victors.

Former NBA player Bostjan Nachbar paced Slovenia with 16 points. Sani Becirovic also scored 16 off the bench for Slovenia, which shot just 35.7 percent from the floor.

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