When Svetislav Pešič announced the list for Mundobasket, few saw the Serbian basketball team in the final.
The goal in the Philippines was to go to the Olympic Games, and for that the team needed to reach the semi-finals.
But, led by Bogdan Bogdanović, the Serbian basketball players played a perfect tournament in Manila, played flawless games in the quarter-finals against Lithuania and in the semi-finals against Canada and got the chance to fight for the gold.
In the meantime, they qualified for the Olympic Games, but in the final, Serbia failed to take another step and win the title. Germany was better, winning 83:77 and winning the title for the first time in history.
"Congratulations to the Germans, a great game. They deserved to win, they played 40 minutes at a high level, very solid. For this type of game we needed more rotation. Our medical team did everything they could to recover the players after Canada. At the beginning game we lost Dobrić, Bogdanović felt bad before the game, it was a question whether he can play at all, but that's what I have to say. I'm proud of the team. We had a shot to equalize, but it's a final, you have to be in better physical shape," said Pešić at the press conference.
Serbia was without Borisa Simanić at the championship, who had his kidney removed. Simanić was hit in the match against South Sudan.
"When we started, no one believed in us. I'm overjoyed for this group of guys. I'm proud of them. A lot of work was invested, a lot of time," said Bogdan Bogdanović for Sport klub.
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Serbia had an attack to equalize, but entering the last minute, Marko Gudurić was inaccurate for three.
"That's basketball. Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn't go in, but I think we could have done better in defense. This German team has been building for years, they have quality and they proved that they are the best in the tournament. We played bravely today, we were in a position to win "We will only see in a couple of years how successful this is. It's bad when the tournament ends in defeat, but we played in the final and we should be happy," said Bogdanović.
Svetislav Pešić's team returned to the game today thanks to Aleksa Avramović, who scored 16 points in the last period.
"We have to be proud, with our heads held high. We played against a fantastic team, they have been together for a long time, We have been building this team since last year, in the meantime we lost some players. We have no regrets, we know we did our best. The better team won ", the Partizan basketball player told Sport Club.
The youngest in the team, Nikola Jović, is one of the Serbian players who marked the tournament.
"It was difficult. We wanted to win, but we were emotionally and physically drained. I'm glad I was with these guys. I hope I can do it again," the Miami basketball player told Sport Club.
Serbia has lost five finals in a row at major competitions - two European (2009 and 2017), two world (2014 and 2023) and one Olympic final (2016). Also, Serbia was defeated in the last two matches in which it played for bronze at major competitions (Mundobasket 2010 and Eurobasket 2015).
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