By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Serbia coach Svetislav Pesic explained how the “Orlovi” are far more than “Nikola Jokic’s” or “Bogdan Bogdanovic’s team” due to their chemistry and depth.
“This is not a team of Jokic and Bogdanovic and the remaining 10,” Pesic said to Serbian network RTS. “This is a team of 10 players plus Jokić and Bogdanović. When you understand that, then you’ll understand why we are a team. This team has continuity, individual quality… I tell one player: “You will never be Jokić, do you understand? But Jokić will never be you either. Jokić is Jokić. Give what you know best and are good at.”
“Of course they are both fantastic players and there are no top teams without leaders,” Pesic added. “So don’t do that. The rest are quality guys, talk about others too.”
While Serbia is widely considered as the favorite to win the gold medal in the EuroBasket, Pesic pointed at some other teams that will aim high as well.
“Turkey is one of the favorites,” Pesic said. “Then comes Lithuania, Latvia, and even Italy. There is also Greece. They have Giannis, who raises the value of every player in the team. Germany, Spain, France, but without some key players. It is difficult when you are left without those leading players, but if that is compensated, anything can happen.”
Pesic also emphasized on how strong the competition in EuroBasket is and said that he wished that the tournament was held every two years like before.
“Compared to the NBA or EuroLeague, this is the strongest thing you can watch in the world when it comes to quality basketball,” Pesic mentioned. “European basketball has experienced enormous development in the last ten years, its popularity is definitely soaring… This does not apply only to Europe, basketball is becoming a global sport like football. But, at the Olympic Games, three European teams were in the semifinals, and a year before that, at the World Championship, two European teams were in the finals… But, at those competitions, due to the system and qualifications, not all European teams can qualify. Now they have a chance. I miss that EuroBasket is not held every two years like it used to be. Because, after the NBA, the most popular sport and the greatest interest, from a sponsor and financial perspective, is European basketball.”