Svetislav Pesic addressed the media at the press conference after the second round match of the FIBA World Cup against Italy.
Although Serbia managed to gain a 16-point advantage in the third quarter after a slightly worse start to the game, in the end Italy won with a score of 78:76.
“We knew we would play hard against a top team like Italy. There were too many ups and downs. We didn’t control our game, especially in the moments when we had a good result. Either way, we have to beat the Dominican Republic.
We will have enough time, we play in two days, we will prepare mentally and physically. We must also analyze what we need to improve in order to give our maximum against the Dominican Republic” – said Svetislav Pesic in the introductory part of the presentation.
Continuation of the tournament
“We decide our own destiny. It’s not so bad that we lost by two points, but it remains regrettable that we didn’t use the momentum to turn the match in our favor. It is difficult to play against Italy, you saw that they have a lot of experience and that they have been playing together for a long time.
After all, that’s what they showed. And if we had beaten Italy, we would have had to win the last game in the group. That meeting against the Dominican Republic determines our fate in the continuation of the FIBA World Cup.
We didn’t even have 24 hours to prepare for this match, but now we have almost twice as much to recover. To bring back some guys who had certain problems and to enter that game as if it were the final of the World Cup.“
Nikola Jovic and his injury
“So far it’s good, the body is warmed up and those blows can be endured. We’ll see what it looks like when it’s finished. He will undergo therapies as needed. He got a hard hit, and that’s how experienced teams know how to take advantage. They are smeared with all colors.
We are sometimes naive, I’m not saying that we should hit, but much better to use some things especially when we have a good result. That disrupted the rhythm of our game, problems with fouls by some of our players, and for Nikola Jovic, I think everything will be as it should be.“
Bogdanovic took responsibility
“I can’t say anything if I haven’t heard. You know that Bogdan is emotional, that he feels a great responsibility, not only because he is the captain, but because he is our best player. He wanted the best, he is experienced, he will learn from this how he could solve situations on the field. Maybe in some other way.
That is now in the past, Bogdan must forget this and turn to the next game. What was, is over” – concluded Svetislav Pesic.