By Semih Tuna/ stuna@eurohoops.net
Riga, Latvia – In the biggest Eurobasket upset so far, the Olympic bronze medalist Serbia is out of the tournament after losing to Finland, and coach Svetislav Pesic explained why a key point, which was among the biggest concerns of the scouting, decided the outcome.
As he said in the press conference: “Congratulations to Finland. We knew before the game how the Finnish team is playing: energy, transition, shooting, and offensive rebounds”.
The last two words are the most important, as Pesic elaborated: “They are the best team in offensive rebounds in the tournament, 16 per game, and tonight they got 20. So it’s an opponent that we could not underestimate. We didn’t find a solution for the offensive rebounds, so we lost the game despite Finland shooting 41% and they ended up having 92 points”.
Miami Heat forward Nikola Jovic echoed his coach: “We didn’t come to the game ready, it starts from me as the youngest one. I was not ready from the jump. As the coach said, they got 20 offensive rebounds, which is unacceptable. We were prepared well, we watched the film, but they were more physical than us. They simply had more shots. They are more aggressive, more humble, so what else can I say?”.
And coach Pesic also didn’t have anything special to say to his team after the defeat. When asked what he said in the locker rooms, he replied: “Nothing. The game is over, we will talk about the game tomorrow”.
Asked in Serbian if the fact that Finland had bigger fan support, Pesic simply didn’t agree: “We didn’t win so far because of the atmosphere. Do you think we won games and medals because of the atmosphere? That’s not true. You win through quality, preparation, and knowledge. Nothing happened differently than in any other game. Sure, we could look for excuses. The reality is that on a game like this, in a tournament like this, you have to be better physically prepared. We weren’t at that level. That was missing. Several players were injured, and it showed. Some players had a virus, Jović had problems, he hadn’t even trained, except this morning. These are things that… they’re not excuses. But with this team, in a tournament like this, you need to be in better physical condition, for the team to feel physical contact. You can’t say the players couldn’t give what they could. There’s always room for improvement. It just didn’t happen. They were building their confidence, as it usually goes. And of course, everyone sees us as the absolute favorite, which is extra motivation. Anything that can lead to a situation like this—if you shoot and miss, well, you’re playing against the favorite. You have to shake it off. Then another three-pointer comes. It’s not unknown. But if Serbia loses to Finland, it’s normal for everyone to ask how this could happen. Well, it happens”.
So, what could Serbia have done better? “We should have been more aggressive, physically better one-on-one. Overall, the team defense. We had good moments in some games; through defense, we were building our confidence, but as you saw, it was hard. We gave it everything we had. Let’s admit it. The players gave everything in this moment. You never lose a game for a single reason; there are always several. But now, after the match, I don’t need to comment. In the second quarter, we found our balance. They went 10–1, and we only got two offensive rebounds. That was the only quarter we won—24–16. That was the key to the game. After that, again, we didn’t.”
Speaking about what the future holds for the Serbian national team, Pesic added: “The goal was, for me, the Federation, and the players, the European Championship. No one was thinking about what comes after the EuroBasket. In the end, it doesn’t matter right now. The focus of the players, the leadership, myself, and my colleagues was on the European Championship. To prepare as best as we could, go out there, and try to achieve the best possible result. Wins and losses must be analyzed wisely and consciously. From defeats, we managed to find solutions and improve. No one likes losing. Especially us. It’s hard for us. I can imagine it’s hard for our fans too, because expectations were too high. Were they realistic? Given the circumstances, that’s not even the question. We tried to achieve a better result. We ran into a fantastic team. They played very good team basketball. As I said from the start, no one even thought we underestimated anyone. We prepared very well. But sometimes, even good preparation doesn’t bring results. The focus was on the game. We didn’t seize the opportunity, and that’s what happened.”
Photo credit: FIBA