By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Serbia is missing Nikola Milutinov, but that was just a footnote in the first game of the tournament. Jokic and Micic couldn’t be slowed down by the Netherlands as Serbia got the 100-76 win.
To be exact, Nikola Jokic with 19 points, and Vasilje Micic with 15 points and 12 assists were spectacular and stayed on the court for just 22 minutes each.
It was more than enough, as one of the main favorites of the Eurobasket 2022, proved its might in its first game for Group D.
Vanja Marinkovic added 19 points for the winning side, which led by 10 after the first quarter (31-21) and never looked back.
“We started the game really good, we had some minutes in the third quarter, but we didn’t go down, stayed focused, and started to play good again”, said Marinkovic.
“We expected this kind of energy for the Netherlands because every team is very motivated to play against Serbia in the European championships”, added coach Svetislav Pesic.
Coach of the Netherlands Mauricio Buscaglia explained: “We have to put this game behind us, but the issue for us is to feel that we can compete more, and to make fewer mistakes”.
Worthy De Jong scored 28 points for the Netherlands who simply couldn’t keep up with the Serbs, even if the partial score in the second and the third period was just 44-40 in favor of Serbia and for a moment they trimmed the lead to five.
De Jong turned some heads with his performance, especially since he had announced that he will retire after the tournament.
“I stand by my decision because it’s not only physical, it’s mental”, he explained in the press conference.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL