Even before the start of this world Cupthere Serbia already had a great team lead capable of creating a surprise while advancing in the shadows. It must be said that, without Nikola Jokic, Vasilije Micic, Nikola Kalinic, Nemanja Bjelica, Boban Marjanovic, Vladimir Lucic, Milos Teodosic or Nemanja Nedovic, she was far from being considered among the tournament favorites.
However, two weeks later, the “Orlovi” (the Eagles) qualified in style for the second world final in their young history as an independent country. Only one year after falling in the round of 16 of the EuroBasket with his best players…
After the lesson inflicted by his men on Canada, Svetislav Pešić also wanted to draw attention to the players present in Asia and not those who are missing, like Nikola Jokic.
“I don’t know if this is the right time to talk about Jokic”
“ I don’t know if this is the right time to talk about [Nikola] Jokic “, indicated the Serbia coach, regarding the Nuggets MVP. “ All I can say is that he will always be a part of this team, because he is the best player in the world right now and he is a great person. But I don’t think it’s time to talk about him, it’s time to talk about the players who are there. »
Same story among the Serbian players, led by Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nikola Milutinov, who hardly care about their absent compatriots because their collective is particularly united and well-oiled.
“ It doesn’t matter who’s not there », affirmed for example Marko Guduric. “ It’s just about this group of guys: We never give up, no matter who’s in there and who’s wearing that jersey. We fight until the end, it’s in our blood. It’s in us, we are proud of our country and we represent our families, our people. When you see the crowds here, I can’t imagine what it’s like in Serbia. But like I said, it doesn’t matter who’s not there because whoever can play is going to give 100%. »
Photo credit: FIBA.com
