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The second round of FIBA World Cup 2023 starts with a duel between two fierce rivals, Serbia and Italy. The Serbians will be hoping to get revenge in this game for the two painful losses to Italians – last year at Euro Championships and a couple of years ago in Olympic Games qualifiers. Will they be able to finally get one over the Italy? Read our preview to find out.
- Date & Time: Friday, September 1st, 2023, 9 a.m. GMT
- Venue: Smart Araneta Coliseum – Manila, Philippines
Serbia vs Italy basketball predictions
Contents
While Serbia is once again the favourite against Italy, the Italians proved lately in most important matches that they have a way of dealing with the Serbians. So, we expect a very interesting match and we have some exciting basketball predictions for this game for you:
Prediction 1: Italy to win with handicap (+10.5) @ 8/13 (1.62)
This is a duel between two teams who met last year in knockout stages of European Championships and when everyone expected Serbia to win since they were the main favourites to go all the way, the Italians surprised them and beat the Serbians thanks to amazing shooting beyond the three point line.
Unlike that match, Serbia will now be without some key players, mainly Nikola Jokic and Vasilije Micic, although Bogdan Bogdanovic is now with the team. Still, Italians proved that they can deal with this Serbian team and while we can see Serbia edging them out, we don’t see them winning by more than ten points.
Prediction 2: Nikola Milutinov over 9.5 total rebounds @ 6/5 (2.20)
Although Jokic is missing this World Cup, it’s not like Serbia doesn’t have other quality players at the centre position. In fact, they have Nikola Milutinov, one of the best centres in Europe.
So far, Milutinov averaged 10.3 rebounds per game in just 25 minutes per game. Given Serbia’s opponents in the first round, Milutinov didn’t need to play big minutes, but we expect that to change from this point onwards and with more minutes we can see him grabbing more rebounds, so our prediction for this match is for Nikola to grab at least ten rebounds.
Serbia vs Italy preview – can Serbia get revenge?
Now let’s take a closer look at the latest Serbia vs Italy team news ahead of their meeting in the second round at FIBA World Cup:
Serbia news, injuries, and starting lineups
As we mentioned already, Serbia arrived to the World Cup without their biggest star, the most recent NBA champion and finals MVP Nikola Jokic. In addition to Jokic, Vasilije Micic, Vladimir Lucic, and Nikola Kalinic also mark significant absentees for this Serbian team, but despite all this, Serbia is still a team that can go far in this tournament.
After all, the ever-present Bogdan Bogdanovic is once again leading the team, this time as a captain. Serbia also has a few more quality players, especially Nikola Milutinov and young Heat forward Nikola Jovic. Serbia enters the second round with maximum number of points after winning all three games in the first round, although it has to be said that they did have a very easy group.
Serbia injury report:
- Borisa Simanic (out of the tournament)
- Filip Petrusev (questonable)
- Aleksa Avramovic (questionable)
Serbia starting lineup:
Stefan Jovic, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Ognjen Dobric, Nikola Jovic, Nikola Milutinov

Italy news, injuries, and starting lineups
For a long time, Italy was a team made of quality NBA players who just couldn’t work together when it mattered in national team. However, in the last few years that changed and Italy is now a true team, with only one NBA player on the roster, but still a good team that functions well together.
The team’s leading scorer is their only NBA player Simone Fontecchio, but other notable players in this roster are Nicolo Melli, Luigi Datome, and Achille Polonara. Italy enters the second round with five points after two wins and a loss to Dominican Republic in the first round.
Italy injury report:
- N/A
Italy starting lineup:
Marco Spissu, Stefano Tonut, Achille Polonara, Simone Fontecchio, Nicolo Melli

Serbia vs Italy head-to-head matchups
Since 2008, Serbia and Italy have played 17 times and Serbia usually dominated against the Italians. After all, they have a 12-5 lead in head-to-head duels. That being said, Italy beat Serbia three times in their last four duels, including a win in the friendly match ahead of this World Cup, in addition to those painful Serbia losses at Euro Championships and Olympic Games qualifiers.
Where to watch Serbia vs Italy on TV/live stream
If you live in the UK, all FIBA World Cup matches are available on FIBA’s streaming service Courtside 1891. Meanwhile, in the United States, the World Cup is shown on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
Serbian fans can watch the game on Sport Klub and RTS, while Italians can see their team on DAZN and Rai2.
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