FOSHAN, China – Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic vowed they wouldn’t take Gilas Pilipinas lightly in their FIBA World Cup duel, so they did just that as the Serbians flaunted absolute dominance.

Ranked No. 4 in the world, Serbia showed why it’s one of the favorites to take home the prized Naismith Trophy as it dealt the Philippines an agonizing 126-67 beating on Monday, September 2. 

It was a match that showed the level of play between the two nations are miles apart, and Djordjevic did not pull punches on his opinion on Gilas Pilipinas. 

“What can I say? Tough loss is always a tough loss. It depends how you’re going to react. We respect each and every player and we played the hardest that we can,” Djordjevic told reporters in the post-game presser. 

“I think you showed some talent, some quickness, but obviously you’re missing quality and these two games are result of that.” 

Serbia recorded the biggest winning margin yet in the tournament after ripping the Philippines by 59 points. 

Pair that to Gilas’ equally embarrassing 46-point loss to Italy, its -52.5 average point difference ranks second-worst only to Senegal, which lost by 54 to Lithuania. 

Serbia, on the other hand, has comfortably won by an average of 52.5 points through two games in Group D.  

“Two European tough teams, who know how to play basketball, tough, physical, basketball, that’s the result,” Djordjevic added. 

“Maybe [it’s something] to think about in the future.” – Rappler.com