Serbia's group of unknowns ready for semifinal test

— -- LILLE, France -- The scraggly beard. The crinkled eyes. An athlete without obvious athleticism.

But appearances can be deceptive.

For those versed only in the NBA, Milos Teodosic might be the best point guard you've never heard of. He is one with an uncanny knack for delivering when it matters most.

The same can be said of Teodosic's Serbia team, one without a single player who completed last season in the NBA. No superstars with multimillion-dollar endorsement deals or fleets of Ferraris parked in the garages of mansions.

But in 2014, it was they, not France or Spain, who were the opposition for the United States in the World Cup final in Madrid.

"It was the first year for us with a new coach and new group of players," Teodosic said. "This year, we showed from the beginning how we play."

Serbia is polished enough that they go into Friday's EuroBasket 2015 semifinal with Lithuania in Lille with huge expectations.

"[Serbia has] not lost in the championships," said Lithuanian point guard Mantas Kalnietis. "They're going to be the favorites."

Not just favorites to advance into Sunday's gold medal game but also to bring the championship back to Belgrade. Serbia is bigger, stronger and more emboldened, prepared to claim the European title for the first time since 2001, when the nation still formed the bulk of the old Yugoslavia.

Teodosic, currently playing for Russian power CSKA Moscow, will be at the center of everything Serbia does. He had 14 assists in the quarterfinal victory over the Czech Republic. His influence is pervasive.

"His vision of the game is unbelievable," said Serbia coach Aleksandar Djordjevic.

"Everyone knows he's a top-level point guard in Europe," Kalnietis added. "But we're going to find some ways to stop him. You can't stop him completely. But we want to take him out of his comfort zone."

The 28-year-old Teodosic is a prime reason the Serbs are 7-0 here and averaging tournament-highs in points (88.0) and assists (25.3), with 8.3 per game coming from his hands. But he is not alone.

Soon-to-be Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Nemanja Bjelica, the reigning Euroleague MVP, might be scoring only 14.7 points per night, but he is doing so while shooting 61.9 percent from the field.

"He's a monster," Teodosic said. "It's amazing what he does."

"They're the closest thing you have here to a club team," one NBA scout noted. By contrast, Lithuania varies between a fine-tuned group heading deep into March Madness and a lineup chosen from whoever turned up in the playground.

In the quarterfinal round, Lithuania used its muscle and strength to do just enough to knock Italy off course. With size of its own, Serbia will be happy to match.

"They play tough defense," Kalnietis said. "It will be a big fight."

Expect  Jonas Valanciunas to come out when the bell sounds, still nursing the bruises from a surprisingly physical duel Wednesday with Italy's Andrea Bargnani, when the current Toronto Raptors center grabbed 26 points and 15 rebounds in 39 minutes.

Valanciunas might not be the leader Lithuania would like him to be. But, Kalnietis added, "There are not a lot of players who can stop him one-on-one. But at the same time, we cannot rely just on him. We need to find different strategies than just going into the low post. Even when he is playing well, we need to move the ball more."

Serbia are experts at that. And other than against Germany in the opening round, no opponent has come closer than 10 points.

The Lithuanians have power, but do they also have finesse? Do they really expect to be playing in the final rather than for bronze?

"[Lithuania] played very well in the last two games," Teodosic said. "And I think we must play our game from the start. With good defense with a lot of transition, tough and being strong."

It could get ugly, with a guaranteed Olympic berth for Rio 2016 at stake. If so, he added, then that is how it must be.

"They play very tough; they have good bodies; they run a lot. They have seven or eight players [who can make an impact]. We must play 40 minutes, but this is how we come to play."