The basketball tournament, which moved from the knockout stage from Lille to Paris, was the absolute highlight of the 11th day of the Olympic Games.
Bersi welcomed the world's biggest stars, the day started with applause Janisu Adetokumbu which had no chance in the duel with the Germans, ended with the exhibition of the United States of America against Brazil, but all that was in the shadow of the duel between Serbia and Australia, the second match of the quarter-final program.
Not so much because of the great excitement, twists and turns and the final outcome (the "eagles" celebrated after overtime 95:90 even though they were down 24 points in the opening minutes of the second quarter), but because in the world of the Queen of Games it represents Nikola Jokic.
The popular Joker, according to many the most dominant basketball player of today, "set fire" to the fans from the first moment he stepped onto the court of the "Akor Arena". You could feel how popular he was already during the warm-up, and it continued with every move, whether with the ball in his hands or when he had to defend the scattered "kangaroos".
"MVP, MVP", echoed in the hall several times during the 45-minute battle between the Serbs and the Australians, and Jokić, it seems like never before, was a key player in the team's defense Svetislav Pešić. Along with, of course, the contribution in the attack that as a rule is never missing - he lacked an assist to register a triple-double (21 points and 14 rebounds).
About 15 spectators enjoyed themselves, they enjoyed it from the first rows in the stands and Manuel Ginobili, Olympic champion with Argentina from Athens 20 years ago, but also coach of Panathinaikos Ergin Ataman (who was chatting with Serbian fans all the time), and the famous general manager of the Toronto Raptors Masai Ujiri...
Jokić has been named the most valuable regular player in the NBA three times in the last four years, the exception being the 2022/2023 season. when, for many, that title unjustifiably went into their hands Joel Embiid.
Jokić "restored the balance" by leading his Denver team to a historic ring just a month later, when he was the MVP of the final series. Now he wants another Olympic medal with Serbia, after silver in Rio de Janeiro 2016, but the road is tough, because Joker and his teammates play USA in the semi-finals.
The spectacle in the "Akor Arena" did not end there, but it continued shortly before 18 p.m. - the French crowd occupied Bercy preparing for the match with Canada, and in the fan zone near the hall, supporters of the American team, whose match was closed the first of three days of top basketball in Bercy.
Bonus video:
