By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Making it to the semifinals of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Canada already reached the highest stage in recent basketball memory within the country’s history books. Wanting to go even further, they couldn’t make it against Svetislav Pesic’s Serbia, who captured the silver medal despite precious absences.
Among those, Vasilije Micic didn’t make it to the Philippines, wanting to prepare himself in the best possible way ahead of his first-ever NBA Regular Season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Talking to B92.net, the Serbian superstar commented about his Canadian teammate’s desire for revenge against Serbia. “He even said that he can’t wait to play against Serbia again and that he would play, as he said, the best game in his life”, the former EuroLeague MVP expressed.
In that game, the 2024 Western Conference All-Star starter went close to a double-double of 15 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes on the court, heavily limited by Aleksa Avramovic on the perimeter. “He definitely remembers Alexa [Avramovic] and the whole national team”, Vasilije Micic added.
Leading Canada with 24.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game to the bronze medal, the former Anadolu Efes player believes that’s a “great success” for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the whole nation. “That silver and that victory in the semi-final had a lot of influence and made it easier for me when I came here, in terms of getting some respect from them“, the Serbian playmaker commented.
PHOTO CREDIT: 2023 FIBA World Cup
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