FOSHAN, China, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Bogdan Bogdanovic's shooting spree spearheaded Serbia past Italy 92-77 for their third straight victory, sitting atop Group D at the FIBA World Cup here on Wednesday.
The Sacramento Kings shooting guard pocketed 31 points, making six of 11 from beyond the arc, along with four rebounds and five assists.
Earlier, both sides had secured their last 16 berths with two wins in as many games. In the group-winner decider, Serbia controlled the pace and built its leading position since late in the first quarter and never ceded away.
Serbia's NBA All-Star center Nikola Jokic added 15 points and six boards.
Bogdanovic posed the biggest threat outside the paint ever since the tip-off, making all three attempts. Coming off the bench, Jokic added six points to compile a 28-23 lead for Serbia as the first quarter expired.
After Italy cut into a two-point lead, as expected, Jokic's substitution once again proved important as he sprung an 8-0 spurt for a double-digit advantage en route to going 50-42 up back to the locker room.
Danilo Gallinari scored all of Italy's 11 points after the break to trim the deficit to two, then Serbia ran away through solid performance on free-throw line, heading into the final quarter 70-57 ahead and sailed to victory.
Jokic was somewhat involved in a clash with Italy's guard Daniel Hackett, hearing the "MVP" hoot from the stands when serving his free throws.
Gallinari led Italy's sheet with 26 points. Marco Belinelli and Hackett added 15 and 13 respectively.
In an earlier match, Angola got past the Philippines 84-81 through overtime for its first win of the tournament.
