By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
LILLE, France – Serbia’s coach Svetislav Pesic is considered one the last true teachers of the sport and his old-school approach is notorious.
That’s why his enthusiastic comments about South Sudan should not be taken lightly.
“It was a fantastic match. A spectacle”, said Pesic who made his name by grooming legends like Tony Kukoc, Vlade Divac, and Dino Radja in leading them in the 80s on the junior level on an unheard at the time triumph in the junior FIBA World Championship over the US.
Pesic had only good things to say about the team representing Africa: “They are an unusual team. They play basketball of the future. There is no dilemma. In about 10 years, basketball will be played like this. It won’t be like ice hockey, but it will be fast. They have mental strength. It is important in addition to tactical segments. It is difficult to overcome them. They had two fantastic games against the USA. That’s how they raised their confidence. They don’t look at who the opponent is, only themselves. We managed to contain them to our rhythm and play the way we wanted”.
Of course, with Serbia winning, Pesic also talked about his team: “We had an outstanding shooting percentage and over 30 assists and 40 rebounds. We played a fantastic game. This game gives us optimism before the quarterfinals. In the first half, we wanted to win right away, and that was difficult”.
And speaking about Australia, Serbia’s upcoming opponent in the Olympic quarterfinals, Pesic used the example of Greece’s win over the Boomers.
As he said: “They don’t play the same basketball as South Sudan, but they are one of the fastest teams. They are fantastic in their own style. They have a lot of NBA players and a lot of experience, unlike Sudan. They know how to play, and they are excellent shooters. We saw how Greece beat them – because of defense. Without that there is nothing. We have to play as well as we can, then everything depends on us”.
Photo credit: FIBA