"No Jokic, no problem": Fans react as Serbia dismantle Lithuania and reach final 4 of FIBA World Cup 2023 thanks to Bogdan Bogdanovic

Bogdan Bogdanovic-led Serbia became the first nation to seal their berth in the 2023 FIBA World Cup's semi-finals after clinching an 87-68 win over Lithuania. It was a stunning win for the Serbians, as this Lithuanian team had all the momentum in the world.

Spearheaded by Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas, Lithuania was the only unbeaten team entering Tuesday's quarter-final round. In their last game, they dominated favorites, the USA, to take home a shocking 110-104 win.

Serbia had a 4-1 record entering that fixture. After a surprising 78-76 defeat against Italy on September 1st, they bounced back with a 115-83 win over Dominican Republic to seal their place in the final eight.

Bogdan Bogdanovic and the crew took that form into Tuesday's quarter-finals and played some of the best basketball we've seen at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Fans from all across the globe were in awe of Serbia's thumping victory, who have made it to the final four despite missing the services of reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic.

Here's a reaction from a Turkish fan, who had tremendous respect for Serbia's efforts:

"No Jokic no Problem ... We have Bogi ... Love from Turkey"

More reactions followed:

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Bogdan Bogdanovic has been the key architect of Serbia's success

Serbia have Bogdan Bogdanovic to thank for their remarkable run to the final four. There were doubts about the team's chances of getting this far without their best player, Nikola Jokic, but the Serbians have handled business well in his absence under Bogdanovic's leadership.

The Atlanta Hawks guard continued his fine run with a game-high 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. Bogdanovic stuffed the stat sheet by adding four rebounds, three assists and two steals to his name.

The Serbians took an 11-point lead in the halftime behind his 18-point first half. Bogdanovic has averaged 18.8 points on 49/37/85 splits across six appearances. That's the kind of effort Serbia needed from him, and the shooting guard delivered the goods as expected.

Bogdanovic's efforts have inspired his teammates to keep their performances up. Against Lithuania, Sixers forward Filip Petrusev fed off Bogdanovic's energy and played an excellent cameo, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes on 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from long range.

The one-two punch proved too much for even Lithuania's strong defense that got the best of an outfit like Team USA purely on hustle plays and discipline.