Serbia advanced to the men's basketball gold-medal match for a dance with the United States after Friday's 87-61 triumph over Australia at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.The offensive-minded Australians, with their country's first Olympic medal in men's basketball up for grabs, crumbled under the pressure and the suffocating defense of Serbia.Serbia's Milos Teodosic led all scorers with 22 points, while MiroslavRaduljica added11 points and six rebounds.Australia's Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova combined for 20 points.Australian professional basketball player A.J. Ogilvy offered praise for Teodosic:The story was the team totals, though, with Serbia dominating the glass 43-30, including 10 offensive rebounds, while holding Australia to a woeful 22-of-66 shooting performance. An Australian offense that posted 95 points against Serbia in group play scored five in the first quarter and 14 in the second Friday.It was a rout from the start. Serbia came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an 8-0 advantage after spending the entire buildup to Friday's game hearing about the 95-80 loss to Australia in group play.Raduljica, Serbia's leading scorer in the tournament with 16.7 points per game entering Friday, told Fox Sports' Liam FitzGibbon his side was looking for a different outcome this time around.They are a strong team, they are a very good team and I like how they play, but also we know how to play basketball. Hopefully we can repeat how we did against them but only a little longer, because somehow we crashed out with only a minute-and-a-half to go, hesaid.The Serbs came out more physical than they did in the first encounter, going up 12-3, with Keith Langlois of Pistons.com offering high praise:It was a testament to Serbia's aggression that Australia, the team that had run the table in group play minus a loss to the United States, missed six of its first seven shots and totaled five points in a 2-of-15 effort in the first frame.Australia doubled its point total a few minutes into the second quarter, but Teodosictook over, scoring a quick six points of his own and growing his side's lead to 24-10. He notably continued to get the better of Dellavedova, as Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune pointed out:The lead grew to 35-14 by halftime, with Serbia dominating in all regards.Perhaps the most notable stat was the eight offensive rebounds for the Serbs. While Serbia was grabbing offensive boards and cutting to the basket for easy scores before Australia could get set, Mills and other Australians were throwing up low-percentage frustration shots on the offensive end.The halftime reactions by many followed a similar vibe:Call the start of the second half a strong case of dejavu. Australia scored five points, but Serbia responded to keep the lead within a 20-point range. Fouls started piling up at the midway point of the third frame, with Raduljica notably hitting the bench with three, but Serbia still held a 46-25 advantage.The teams started trading baskets, too. Mills scored four quick points, but Teodosic drained a three and added two more after an Australian defensive breakdown. Serbia eventually built a 66-38 lead going into the final frame.The final frame was merely a formality, with Serbia's lead floating in the 30-point range and both teams riding the emotions of an unpredictable outcome.What's Next'The United States awaits Serbia, while Australia will meet Spain the bronze-medal match Sunday.It's no shock that Kevin Durant and Team USA dispatched Spain in Friday's early semifinal match, 82-76, moving the country's record against Spain at the Olympics to a pristine 12-0.Serbia encountered the United States in group play, a 94-91 affair in which the United States jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. Team USA got 15 points from Kyrie Irving, though Serbia did display an advantage in the paint, with Nikola Jokic exploding for 25 points.It's an interesting rematch in many ways, as it's also a rematch of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup final, which the United States won 129-92. As CBS Sports' Zach Harper noted, in some ways, it's also a rematch of the 1996 gold-medal game between Team USA and Yugoslavia.Serbia scouted Australia well for their rematch Friday, and if it can pull off the same feat against the United States, the two sides will likely put on a classic with the gold medal hanging in the balance Sunday.Postgame ReactionAs expected, the discussion after the game centered on Serbia's shocking climb to the gold-medal match. Forward Nikola Kalinic spoke with Tom Withers of the Associated Press.Unbelievable," he said. "Serbia is a really small country, so it's an even bigger success for such a small country, two times in the world championship and now in the Olympic games. We are in the finals against the U.S. States, so it's an unbelievable success."Serbia once again enters the underdog and will win a medal for the first time since gaining its independence in 2006. It could be a gold medal if Kalinic's side prepares and executes again like it did Friday.Stats and information courtesy of Rio2016.com.
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