74 years old, Svetislav Pesic is kept in an admirable condition. He looks a few years younger. Balkan coach wearing national team sweatpants closely follows the training of the Serbian national team in the sports complex from the sidelines Ninoy Aquino, from Manila and it only stops it to issue a specific instruction.
These are the final preparations for the first semi-final of the World Cup they will face this Friday. Canada (10.45). Train crash expected between Serbia and Canadian team by order of Catalan Jordi Fernandez He outshines all the enemies he encounters along the way, including Spain and Luka Doncic’s Slovenia.
“Hello how are you?” greets the technician new sad Three years after his departure, in a very acceptable Castilian language to the special envoy of this newspaper Barcelona. This was his second stage and he closed it with two Cup titles in 2020 before being replaced by the Jasikevicius era. Its relationship with the Catalan capital is still open. “My daughter lives there now, we go occasionally,” she says.
Smiles all over the Balkan team. The transition to the semi-finals brought back the illusion of a country where basketball is more than a passion, almost a religion. “The first goal was always to qualify for the Games. That was the first thing and we did it,” he explains. Pesic I was talking to this newspaper. “Everything we did in the preparatory phase, all the work was aimed at participating in the Games. That’s what mattered. We now have the opportunity to fight for the podium and we will try to take advantage of this opportunity. But the goal of this group and this generation was to be in Paris”.
Last time Serbian got on the podium and took the silver medal Türkiye Eurobasket, Since then, the results have not come and the criticism has been harsh. Pesic. Eliminated in Europe a year ago Italy He unleashed a current that called for a breakout in the 16th round. Now it is trading higher again.
“Serbian This is a country of basketball, there are always criticisms, there are always opinions about the national team. Same as Barcelona. There were also many coaches there. Over time, you learn to live in an environment where everyone has more or less their own opinion and sometimes everyone knows more than a coach,” he explains with no sternness. “But you have to know how to live with it, and sometimes we can learn from these criticisms and ask ourselves something. 20 years ago, those criticisms affected me much more. Not now”.
notable absences
There was little doubt about the other semi-finalists. USA and Canada and rising Germany appeared in all the pools. Serbian, NO. Deficiency Nikola JokicNBA MVP and Vasilije Micic, The Oklahoma City Thunder’s new player seemed to have eliminated them. but around bogdanovic (Atlanta Hawks) and Milutinov (Olympiacos), Pesic He managed to build a team that presented a great image at the World Cup.
“We play well and during the tournament we get to know each other better and improve”, he values pesic. “We don’t have a lot of individual quality because some key players were not able to play but from day one we clearly saw that our aim is to build a team and if possible get a chance to attack. defense. We are also very happy with the results so far,” he said.
Experienced coach of Novi Sad speaks with great respect CanadaHe’s his opponent in the semi-finals, but he’s also pretty confident in his team’s options. “He’s a very tough opponent, playing with four open and one big. With NBA players, with a great team, with great one-on-ones, players who run great and play great offensively. But first of all, it’s a very physical, very, very strong team. But we are also ready to play at that level”, says Pesic, who continues to enjoy his profession as he did when he started in the mid-90s.
“I’m still happy. It’s my passion. There’s no other reason to be here” was included in the farewell.