Gonzaga’s Filip Petrusev seals quarterfinal win for Serbia over Australia in 2024 Paris Games

Petrusev came up clutch in overtime to complete Serbia’s 24-point comeback against the Aussies

Aug 3, 2024; Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France; Serbia players react after defeating South Sudan during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports / John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Filip Petrusev and the Serbian men’s basketball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Paris Games after a thrilling 95-90 overtime win over Australia on Tuesday at Bercy Arena.

The former Gonzaga standout finished with nine points, five rebounds and two steals, as the Serbs overcame a 24-point deficit and big games from Patty Mills and Josh Giddey to advance to the medal round on Wednesday. The Aussies’ duo combined for 51 points to force an extra period, as Mills knocked down a game-tying shot in the final seconds of regulation after being held in check for most of the second half.

Serbia, led by three-time MVP Nikola Jokic (21 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists) regrouped and claimed a 93-90 advantage with 23 seconds left in the first overtime. In need of one more stop, Petrusev broke up an inbounds pass intended for Mills, saved the ball from going out of bounds and got it to Jokic, all in one swift motion to keep the Serbs’ medal hopes alive. 

Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic completed the comeback with a pair of free-throws, as Serbia will now turn its attention to the winner of the United States-Brazil matchup later on Tuesday. 

The Aussies set the tone early behind a fiery hot start from Mills, who fueled a 20-0 scoring run in the first half to put his team out in front by as many as 24 in the second quarter. It all started with a pair of 3-pointers late in the first quarter, along with some key stops defensively, as Mills scored 10 points in the final 1:48 despite some tight coverage from Serbia on the perimeter.

Mills and Australia were seemingly unfazed by any efforts from Jokic and company though. Mills drained a pullup 2-pointer to cap off the run, as he scored 16 of Australia’s 20 unanswered during that stretch between the first and second quarters. That hot stretch had a lot to do with the Aussies’ 20-of-25 start from the field.

Serbia, after falling behind 46-22, eventually weathered the storm with a few defensive stops that sparked an 8-0 scoring burst of its own, as Jokic finally got going in the painted area with a score and nice no-look pass to Nikola Multinov for an easy two-hand dunk. 

The Serbs, who ranked third-to-last in 3-point field goal percentage in group play, struggled to get much going offensively without much of an inside presence, as they instead settled for outside shots during Australia’s run.

The script began to flip however toward the end of the first half. A pair of inside scorers from Marko Guduric set up a 12-point game at the break, as the Aussies finally cooled off from the field and began to loosen up defensively after holding a big advantage early on. Foul trouble for former Saint Mary’s post Jock Landale also didn’t help their cause.

Serbia rode what momentum it had into a pivotal third quarter. Petrusev put up the first basket of the half before Ognjen Dobric cut the deficit to single-digits with a 3-pointer The bucket jumpstarted a 13-2 scoring run that saw the Serbs retake the lead with 3:49 left in the quarter, as Bogdanovic drilled a triple off an assist from Vasilije Micic.

Serbia, after outscoring Australia 25-11 in the third, remained in the driver’s seat off a few jumpers from Micic, including an off-balance 3-pointer. Micic was one of five Serbs to finish in double-figures for scoring.

Serbia made a concerted effort in the second half to slow down Mills, who was held to six points following his explosive first half of play, but even then the veteran guard found a way to impact the game down the stretch. After Micic went 1-of-2 at the charity stripe to put Serbia up 82-80, Mills created just enough separation on the ensuing possession to get off a game-tying jumper in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.

Then it was Jokic’s turn. After Australia regained the lead, Jokic put Serbia up 91-90 thanks to a strong drive from Petrusev, who found a cutting Dobric on the baseline for a dump off pass to Jokic. The Denver Nuggets superstar came up big again, this time with his signature fallaway jumper over Duop Reath, to put the Serbs up by three points late.

Serbia scored 46 points in the paint (and shot 23-of-38 from close range) while Australia had 38 points on 19-of-34 shooting in the paint. The Serbs had 23 second chance points to the Aussies’ 11. Both teams made nine 3-pointers.