Canada Looks to Knock Off Serbia with World Cup Final Berth on the Line

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Team Canada will look to beat Bogdan Bogdanović and the Serbians to clinch a berth in the FIBA World Cup Final

A FIBA World Cup medal is now within reach.

For the first time in program history, the Canadian Senior Men’s National Basketball team will compete Wednesday morning for a chance to punch their ticket to a berth in the World Cup final. It’s been a historic run for the squad, having already reached record highs and clinched an Olympic spot. But with two games to go, the job is not done yet.

Canada will face off against Bogdan Bogdanović and Serbia at 4:45 am E.T. Wednesday for a chance to take on the winner of the USA-Germany matchup played later Wednesday.

Both teams sit at 5-1 in the tournament, Canada having lost to Brazil while Serbia was knocked off by Italy earlier in the tournament.

Bogdanović has been the offensive engine for Serbia, averaging 18.8 points per game while shooting 37.2% from behind the arc. He had 21 points in Serbia’s quarter-final victory over Latvia on Monday. Expect Dillon Brooks to take on the assignment of trying to slow the talented 6-foot-5 guard.

Serbian center Nikola Milutinov will be the other big test for Canada, a 7-foot big man who’s averaging 13.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in the tournament. Canada did a better job defending the paint against Slovenia, but a lack of size has plauged the Canadian team throughout the tournament.

Canada will once again be relying on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who came out hot with a 31-point performance against Slovenia.

Canada is considered -5 point favorites with an implied win probability of nearly 70%