Serbia vs. Gilas Pilipinas: Odds, Time, Live Stream for 2019 FIBA World Cup

The Serbia men's national basketball team entered the FIBA Basketball World Cup as one of the favorites to win the championship, and that's exactly how they looked in Saturday's opening game.

In its first game in Group D play, Serbia notched a 105-59 win over Angola. The Serbs return to the court Monday to take on the Philippines. In its first game of the FIBA World Cup, the Philippines lost to Italy 108-62.

Game Information

Date: Monday, Sept. 2

Time: 7:30 a.m. ET

Live Stream: ESPN+

Odds (via Caesars): Serbia -35

Preview

Oftentimes, the teams with more NBA players fare the best during international competition. That's why it wasn't a surprise to see Serbia get off to a strong start at the FIBA World Cup.

Serbia has four players on its roster who are on an NBA team: guard Bogdan Bogdanovic and forward Nemanja Bjelica (Sacramento Kings), forward Nikola Jokic (Denver Nuggets) and center Boban Marjanovic (Philadelphia 76ers).

In Serbia's win over Angola, Bogdanovic led the way with a game-high 24 points. Jokic added 14 points, while Marjanovic tallied 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

"We played a great game from the beginning until the end," Serbia forward Nikola Milutinov said, according to the Associated Press (h/t NBC Sports). "We were tough. We were strong. Mentally we were ready."

It may be only one victory, but Serbia has big aspirations for the World Cup, as it could be one of the top contenders along with the U.S., Greece and Spain.

"It's a good start," Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic said, according to AP (h/t NBC Sports). "But it's just the start. It's a long way. We know how to get to where we want to be. We just have to stay humble, stay focused."

While the Philippines don't have any players who are on an NBA roster, its top player is center Andray Blatche, who played for the Washington Wizards from 2005 until 2012 and the Brooklyn Nets from 2012 until 2014. The 33-year-old tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds in the Philippines' loss to Italy.

Although Italy also won its opening game, Serbia is the favorite in Group D, and it wouldn't be surprising for the nation to go 3-0 in group play.

In order for the Philippines to have a successful tournament, it would likely need to score a major upset victory over Serbia. But after seeing how these teams played in their FIBA World Cup openers, that may be too tough of a task for the Philippines, as Serbia could be getting on a roll early in the tournament.