If Germany is the last undefeated country in this world Cup (6-0), to the point of being considered by Steve Kerr as “ the best team of the tournament “, Svetislav Pesic prefers to side with Canada when revealing the name of the selection which has particularly impressed him since the start of the competition.
” In my opinion, we are going to play against the best team in the World Cup “, estimated the Serbian coach, on the sidelines of the semi-final against the teammates of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. ” Germany is the only team to reach the semi-finals without losing once, but they showed what we all expected. Canada is a complete package, when you look at their defense and the way they play. He is coached by a European and his influence is clearly visible. He plays differently from Team USA, he has adapted a little more to the FIBA rules, in any case better than the Americans. »
Imperial in the first round in the group of France, Latvia and Lebanon (3-0 and +111 differential), Canada was then surprised by Brazil in the second round, before winning a “round of 16 » of all the dangers against Spain. A success which boosted the confidence of Jordi Fernandez’s men, victorious in the quarter-final against Slovenia, with authority.
A system mastered to perfection
In the shadow of the sparkling Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of course, the Canadians are making a strong impression on each side of the field, in an “NBA-referenced” system which will not fail to give Serbia a hard time.
” We know Canada is a fantastic small-ball team », Analyzed Svetislav Pesic. ” They start with two bigs, but then they switch exclusively to small-ball, with four players on the outside and only one on the inside. They do it very well, it’s NBA basketball and it’s nothing new, but it will be important to organize ourselves well, distribute roles well and know who will defend who. The most important thing will be stopping their offense in transition, where they are excellent. They are all very good players, attackers and defenders, with very good statistics on their NBA teams. »
Still, the praise of the Serbian coach is not necessarily synonymous with success, because we remember that he also praised the “ solid » Lithuania in « exceptional basketball », before finally teaching the latter a lesson with the “Orlovi” in the previous round…
