By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Serbia will face Greece on Saturday night in the Cyprus ECOMMBX Cup, a preparation tournament before Eurobasket 2025, and coach Svetislav Pesic didn’t hide his disappointment about Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the game.
Speaking to Serbian media, Pesic expects all his healthy players to compete, with Vasilije Micic traveling to Cyprus but being questionable.
As he said, referring to Micic and Giannis: “If everyone is healthy, the plan is for everyone to play. I’m sorry that Giannis is not here; that’s why we scheduled this tournament. We have a good relationship with the Greeks; they always respond to us, so we should repay them for this cooperation that we’ve had for years. We’re glad that Cyprus is the host. You can see how they prepared everything beautifully. It happened to the Greeks; maybe they have some problem, they’re probably also sorry that Micic is not playing. I guess”.
Pesic added that his team still has a long way to go before the Eurobasket starts, and that’s why he doesn’t want to give any prediction about possible favorites: “I wouldn’t talk too much about any team right now because this is the period when we focus more on our development. Let’s fix that physical moment, those tactical things, when it comes to individual attack and defense, let’s see where we are at this moment, and see the reaction. Those are the games that are good for the players when they try to find their training and contribution. It’s one thing to train every day; it’s another when the games are played. Some games serve more to prepare for the European Championship. For coaches, it is also very important to see what we should do to improve in the time ahead, both from an individual and from a team perspective. We need to see if the players can fulfill everything that is asked of them”.
Alen Smailagic and Uros Trifunovic remained in Belgrade due to minor injuries, and that’s why the focus right now is the return of Micic to action: “We will do the same in these two upcoming games, we have 15 players, two are injured, and the rest are in Belgrade. There’s nothing to worry about. We have to bring Vasa back; he is with the team, but we will hardly be able to use him. We are looking to give each player some opportunity to see how much he can do and what he can do. That is the goal of our stay here”.