Serbia beats Mexico ahead of basketball Olympic qualification

BELGRADE, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Serbia defeated Mexico 81-77 in a basketball-friendly game in Belgrade's Aleksandar Nikolic hall on Wednesday, ahead of the upcoming Olympic qualification tournament.

At the beginning of the match played in front of an audience (with 30 percent capacity), Mexico executed 3-pointers better and gained a 4-point advantage, and kept expanding the gap in the second quarter.

However, the Serbian team managed to level the score thanks to precision and tougher defense, while Ognjen Dobric scored a 3-pointer to bring the home team in front at 44-41.

Mexico allowed their opponents to pile up a nine-point gap before showing some resistance at the end of the third quarter.

The home team strengthened their lead with a 10-0 series at 77-64.

Serbia recently won the Acropolis Cup in Athens as part of their preparations for the Olympic Games.

From June 29 to July 4 Belgrade will host the Olympic qualifying tournament where six teams compete for a ticket to Tokyo. Enditem