Will Jokic lead the Serbs to their third win?

The preliminary round of the EURO Basket 2022 will take place in four cities in four different countries. Group B will play their matches at the O2 Arena in the Czech capital Prague. But that doesn’t change the fact that the team from Serbia is the big favourite in this group. The team of legendary coach Svetislav Pesic will face the selection from Finland in their third group match on Monday.

After the first two matchdays, the Serbs have two wins on their account. However, it is quite likely that the three-time European champions will end up winning all five games in a relatively easy preliminary round group. At the moment, only the Israelis are on a par with them, also with two victories. Behind them are Finland and Poland with one win and one loss.

The host Czechs and the Dutch, who are still without a point victory, have big problems. The Serbs will not be distracted by the table and the places behind them. Svetislav Pesic’s team just has to do their own thing and then we can’t avoid a prediction on the third Serbian victory in the duel Serbia vs. Finland on Monday.

The Finns, on the other hand, will have to take their points against other teams in order to secure a place in the last 16. Against the Serbian giants, it will hardly be possible to win anything on Monday.

Serbia – Statistics & current form

Svetislav Pesic is one of the great coaches in European basketball. Everywhere the now 73-year-old has worked, there has been success. Among other things, he was World and European Champion with Yugoslavia and also led Germany to the European Championship title. He also had great times as a club coach at FC Barcelona or ALBA Berlin. He also laid the foundation for a successful time at Bayern Munich.

Winning streak only with Jokic

Nothing less than the European Championship title with the Serbian team is now the next mission. In the World Cup qualifiers, the Serbs really still have to tremble a little and they can’t afford any more slip-ups there. This is mainly due to the fact that there are two Serbian teams on the pitch at times, one outstanding with superstar Nikola Jovic, and then mixed without perhaps the best centre in the world.

Lately, however, the 2.11-metre giant from the Denver Nuggets has always been in the mix and so there have been six victories in a row. Among others against strong teams like Italy, Greece, Turkey or Germany. Accordingly, the Serbian Eagles have also had a successful start to the European Championship. With two wins from the first two matches, Svetislav Pesic’s team is well on its way to the last 16 in Berlin.

In the first match they won 100:76 against the team from Holland. Of course, Nikola Jokic was the best scorer and rebounder of his team. That did not change on Saturday in the 81:68 against the Czech Republic. With a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), the superstar led his team to another unchallenged victory.

Predicted line-up of Serbia:
Davidovac, Marinkovic, Kalinic, Lucic, Ristic, Jokic, Nedovic, Jegodic-Kuridza, Micic, Guduric, Jaramaz, Milutinov – Coach: Pesic

Finland – Statistics & current form

The Finns are anything but a heavyweight in international basketball. However, the Scandinavians’ upswing is unrecognisable. They are now in a European Championship for the fifth time in a row and have also become the very first European team to qualify for next year’s World Championship in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Already qualified for the World Cup

Thus, the Finns could travel to the EURO Basket with a broad chest and fully engage in this tournament. Overall, the Scandinavians are also in good shape and have won four of the last five international games. Nevertheless, the Finnish team will probably face an overpowering opponent on Monday, so that the forecast between Serbia and Finland must clearly go to a Serbian success.

The Finns had imagined a somewhat different start to the European Championship. In August, they won against Israel in the World Cup qualification, but at the EURO Basket, the Scandinavians had to admit defeat in overtime against the same opponent with 87:89. On the other hand, the Scandinavians really turned up the heat against the Poles on Saturday and won by 30 points in the end.

Sasu Salin (18 points) and Lauri Markkanen (17 points) played a major role in the 89:59 victory. Especially Markkanen will play a big role against the Serbians. The forward from the Cleveland Cavaliers is the only star in Lassi Tuovi’s team. Especially in the difficult matches it will be up to him to lead the Finnish team.

Predicted line-up of Finland:
Little, Huff, Salin, Koponen, Kantonen, Jantunen, Valtonen, Madsen, Maxhuni, Markkanen, Seppälä, Palmi, coach: Tuovi

Serbia – Finland Direct comparison / H2H-balance

To date, the paths of the teams from Serbia and Finland have crossed a total of eight times. The direct comparison is a clear affair for the team from the Balkans. After victories, the Serbs are 7:1 ahead. The only victory for the Finns came in the qualifiers for the 2009 European Championship, in which the Serbs nevertheless took part while Finland had to watch.

Since then, the Serbian team has won five times in a row against the Finns. The last two encounters took place in the qualifiers for the current European Championship. The last time the two teams met was in November 2020 in Espoo, Finland. The Serbs won 75:66, but they were also without their superstar Nikola Jokic.

Serbia – Finland tip

The Serbs have played so far sovereign games. Svetislav Pesic’s team must now be careful not to face their opponents in the preliminary round with too lax an attitude now. Then it will be difficult to turn the switch back in the round of 16. However, there is no question that the Eagles will celebrate a victory against the Finns on Monday.

However, Finland is the first European team that has already qualified for next year’s World Cup. From that point of view, the Scandinavians have assembled a team that has taken a big step forward.

From our point of view, it will only be a question of how high the score will be on Monday. But the duel between the two “big men” Nikola Jokic and Lauri Markkanen, who will cross paths under the baskets more often, will be exciting. At the end of the day, we decided to play the betting odds on a Serbian handicap win (-13.5) in this group match between Serbia and Finland.