Boban Marjanovic and Serbia to play in Eurobasket semifinal
By Duncan Smith
The Detroit Pistons have been well-represented by Boban Marjanovic in Eurobasket 2017. His Serbian team will face Russian in the semifinals.
Some Detroit Pistons are back in town ahead of training camp, which starts in two weeks. Others are not. Boban Marjanovic is one who is not, as he’s busy helping lead his native Serbia in Eurobasket play.
On Wednesday, Serbia defeated Italy 83-67 in the Eurobasket quarterfinals, setting up a semifinal matchup with Russia on Friday. Through seven games, Marjanovic is averaging 15.8 minutes per game, adding 12.6 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.
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This produces a familiar per-36 number of 28.7 points and 11.2 rebounds, being the Boban we all remember from virtually every appearance we’ve seen from him with both the Pistons and San Antonio Spurs.
In the quarterfinal match against Italy, Marjanovic scored 10 points on 3-of-6 from the floor and hit all four of his free throws, adding seven rebounds.
On the other side of the Eurobasket bracket, Russia defeated a Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Greek squad 74-69. Russia is led in scoring by Alexei Shved, averaging 24.3 points per game. He’s shooting just 41 percent from the field but averages over eight free throws per game. He’s also averaging 6.3 assists per game.
Timofey Mozgov leads the Russian squad in rebounding with 6.9 boards per game and has added 13.6 points per game.
In Serbia’s previous meeting with the Russian in Eurobasket competition, Marjanovic scored 19 points on 4-of-8 from the floor and hit 11 of his 13 free throws in 19 minutes on the floor. He added six rebounds.
Next: An early look at possible Pistons rotations and minutes
Expect Boban to beat up on Timofey Mozgov once again on Friday in the Eurobasket semifinal.