Pesic explains how national teams become an absolutely secondary thing / News - Basketnews.com

"First of all, the current basketball system was created because of the former EuroLeague management who wanted to make a closed league. And in such conditions, the national team becomes absolutely secondary," Svetislav Pesic said.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Serbian national team head coach Svetislav Pesic shared his view about the current European basketball system, including the clashing calendars of FIBA and EuroLeague competitions.

"I always have the illusion that I can change some things. All the inconveniences which are related to the national team program make me want to do my best. To do the best for the team and to make everyone feel comfortable," the coach told Nikola Stojkovic of Mozzart Sport.

"But the status of the national team is absolutely different now. Performance and enthusiasm depend on us, and we have that, however, other things don't lean on players and coaches," Pesic added.

The 73-year-old specialist says continuity is the foreground to navigate between the issues.

"Continuity is basic in such a situation because only continuity can solve the calendar problems of today's basketball. National team selections mostly depend on the goodwill of the clubs," Pesic pointed out.

"And the clubs' priorities have changed, so do the players'. The national team is important, but unlike football, there are no strict rules for clubs and candidates. I have witnessed that clearly over the past year and a half," he said.

"Well, one of your colleagues recently told me: 'You were in negotiations with Mijailovic [Partizan's president] and Covic [Zvezda's president], are you going to do the same for the February window?' We were not involved in any negotiations, because we do not negotiate about players who are candidates, but we try to cooperate with maximum respect for the system, the status of the players, and the calendar of the competition. In the end, it's not the teams' fault that club competitions are their priority."

What is the cause of such imbalance?

"First of all, such a basketball system was created because of the former EuroLeague management who wanted to make a closed league. And in such conditions, the national team becomes absolutely secondary," the coach stressed.

"Unlike most countries, in Serbia, the national team's successes have always been the most important thing. Fans and everyone else are used to success, so they don't care about anything other than whether we won or lost. Why and how – these questions are not discussed," Pesic concluded.

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