Svetislav Pesic summarized his impressions at the press conference after the first semifinal of the FIBA World Cup where Serbia defeated Canada.
Before heading to the FIBA World Cup, the primary goal of the “Eagles” was to qualify for the Olympic Games, which they achieved. In their quest for the final against Canada, they secured a victory and achieved a significant success.
“I am very proud of everyone. It’s a great victory. What is the reason we once again delivered an excellent performance? To me, it was against the best defensive team. We are not bad in defense either; once again, we showed that we can play defense and transition offense. A crucial point was taking away their transition points. That is the key. Excellent one-on-one defense, especially against Shaq, one of the best I’ve seen.
Of course, he needs experience. A great player, and for our team, it was extra motivation to ‘shut him down’ in the game. It was tough, but we did that job with great success. For me, the third quarter was very important. The final is the final, regardless of the opponent. We need to prepare. What mattered in the third quarter and at the end was rebounding. We outrebounded a team that is strong in offensive rebounding. We controlled that aspect. We didn’t play great in offense, as we expect in the final. But with team defense, we finished the game, and we are very happy,” said Svetislav Pesic in the opening part of his presentation.
Svetislav Pesic about Jokic
“I don’t know if it’s the right time to talk about this. I can only say one thing – Jokic has always been a part of the team because he is the best player in the world right now, an excellent person. It’s not the moment to talk about it, but about the players who are here.”
About Nikola Jovic
“Nikola is one of the most talented players in Europe. A player who has been a part of all the youth selections. He played his first senior game in the qualifiers. He is a player who is progressing, not only because he is young and plays in Miami. The issue is experience. He can play multiple positions both in defense and offense. For a player like Jovic, the first step is to earn the respect of his teammates. We try to help him with that. He has fought for it, and now he definitely has the respect of everyone. That’s the path if he wants to be an important part of the Serbian national team.”
Germany and the USA? It’s unclear
“Here in Manila, with different circumstances, a new team, everything is new for me compared to Indianapolis. As you know, there are no identical games, identical tournaments. Different teams, different situations. We are the only constant; everything else changes. We’ll see; I am very happy with the victory tonight because I know the players are ready for the battle in the final. No one knows who will win tonight between Germany and the USA.”
Last year’s EuroBasket, Aleksa as a “pitbull,” and Dobric’s performance
“It was never a question of whether i unified the team. I cannot unite the journalists and others responsible for Serbian basketball. Today I read somewhere that journalists created an atmosphere that we performed poorly at the European Championship. That’s not true. We had 10 bad minutes. Last year, we breathed as one, just like now. The best part of Serbian basketball is the players.
I wouldn’t comment on Aleksa’s nickname. Defense starts with the guards, not with Milutinov, and then it continues like a chain, everyone contributes. If one link breaks, it’s over. It’s essential, defense against perimeter players and in five-on-five defense and in transition. The big guys who come afterward have the opportunity to play good defense, they give tremendous confidence to the players guarding the guards, as Avramovic, Dobric, Marinkovic do. That’s why they have great self-assurance, they can defend players like Shai. Avramovic showed that at Partizan. That’s his IQ, the way he plays.
Dobric played fantastically, both in defense and offense, against Lithuania and tonight. He scored 16 points. We’re talking about defense, yet we shot 62 percent from the field in the World Cup semifinals. That rarely happens,” concluded Pesic.