By George Efkarpidis/ info@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines – Coming out of the huge win for Serbia over Lithuania and punching in a ticket to the Semifinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, potentially also to the 2024 Olympic Games, Nikola Milutinov looked determined to deliver more impressive defensive efforts in the Philippines.
“I think it was the defense. It was one of our best defenses in the tournament. We knew Lithuania had really good and quality players,” he mentioned answering a question about the most important part of the win in Manila’s Mall of Asia Arena Tuesday, “We really had to step up.”
“For us, it is always all about defense,” added the 28-year-old center, “This is our identity. This is what we want to keep until the end of the tournament.”
The winner of the game between Slovenia and Canada, set to wrap up the Quarterfinals schedule on Wednesday, will be the next opponent for Serbia on Friday.
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL
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