By Eurohoops Team/ info@eurohoops.net
Following fifth place in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, Serbia will attempt to secure a spot in the 2020 Olympic Games through the qualifying tournament set to take place at Belgrade in June. Nikola Jokic discussed recent action in China, looked back at the 2016 qualifying tournament at Serbia’s capital and touched on the significance of competing in the Olympic Games, FIBA relays.
“It’s not ideal to have a bad tournament like the one we had last summer, but now we have to focus on the future,” the Denver Nuggets player pointed out on his national team, “I am confident, I know we will win very soon. We wanted to win the world title, and we didn’t do well during the second part of the tournament so we didn’t win anything.”
“We’re going to learn from this. We’re going to come back better,” added Jokic, “We’re all very talented players and we’re going to do better very soon. Us having a bad tournament doesn’t mean that Serbia isn’t a very competitive national team anymore. We’re one of the best teams in the world and we will show it again very soon. We have a lot of good players, we have a very good spirit of competitiveness and we’ll come back better.”
Dominican Republic and New Zealand form first-round opposition in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, Puerto Rico, Italy and Senegal are potential opponents in the semifinals or the finals, if Serbia avoids an early exit. Jokic, then 20, was present in the 2016 qualifying tournament at Belgrade that led Serbia to the Olympics and the silver medal.
“It was a fantastic experience, one of the best ones of my career so far,” he remembers, “It was my first time playing with the senior national team, and I really felt comfortable with the guys. Playing at home, I wanted to help the team qualify for Rio 2016 by being the best player I could be. We played very well, and we were able to step up our game game after game.”
“It wasn’t easy as every team we faced competed with a lot of intensity and also wanted to get the ticket to the Olympics, but we did show character and a great fighting spirit to achieve our goal of qualifying and going to Rio,” he recalled as well.
“I really want us to do the same next summer at home, and qualify for Tokyo 2020. We’ll use the 2016 experience to do the same in the next couple of months at home,” he went on moving to Serbia’s current situation, “We have to take it one step at a time. First, we have to win every game at the OQT at home, that is the first stage of the ‘Olympic mission’. It’s going to be intense and very competitive, and we can’t think that we already granted our ticket because we are playing at home.”
“The fight for the ticket for Tokyo 2020 is going to be very intense, and every game is going to be a tough battle,” predicts Jokic, “The Olympics is the goal for every team that is going competing at the OQTs and we will have to bring our A-game.”
“The Olympic Games is such a fantastic tournament to compete in, such a great experience,” he also mentioned, “We won the silver in 2016, and it was such a great achievement for Serbian basketball.”
“First thing first, I would like to have Serbia qualify for the Olympics, and to be on that world stage alongside our many talented athletes of our country,” underlines Jokic and concludes, “Serbians love the Olympics, and we would like to be there and try to create another great Olympic moment next summer.”
Photo Credit: FIBA.BASKETBALL