Svetislav Pesic reacts to major EuroBasket upset / News - Basketnews.com

Serbian national team head coach Svetislav Pesic shared his thoughts after losing against Italy in the EuroBasket 2022 Round of 16.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Serbian national team head coach Svetislav Pesic addressed the biggest upset of the EuroBasket 2022, with his team failing to advance through Italy in the Round of 16, 86-94.

Player of the Game EFF 27 Marco Spissu Points 22 Accuracy 7-11 Rebounds 4 Assists 6

This loss marks a difficult stretch for the Serbian national team.

Serbs were eliminated in the World Cup 2019 quarterfinals, didn't make the Tokyo Olympics last year, and now didn't get through the EuroBasket Round of 16.

Asked by BasketNews why the Serbian national team lost the path and what it will take to bring this country to the podium in FIBA competitions, Pesic didn't hide his belief in this talent pool.

"We have an excellent team. Our team has made good improvement in terms of very good basketball," he responded.

"Of course, if you lose the game like tonight and don't qualify for the next Round, it's a disappointment. But I'm very convinced we have good players, especially this group that is here," Pesic added.

"It's one game," the legendary coach said, hoping it was a misfortune.

He said that his team lacked physicality against Italy.

"Congratulations to Italy. They deserved this victory. They played excellent basketball tonight. They were more physical than us," Pesic added and explained what he had in his mind considering physicality.

"You play basketball with hands, head, and mind. But the Italian team plays with five perimeter players. They move the ball very well. They don't have an inside game, and that's where our players needed to be fresh. Defense without legs is impossible. We weren't so bad, but that was our first problem. They moved the ball excellently, and they played very aggressively," a 73-year-old coach said.

Serbian defense couldn't handle Italian shooters. They went for 16 of 38 beyond the arc (42%).

"We didn't make some open shots, but most importantly, our biggest problem was consistency in defense. We didn't have three good stops in a row. Italy improved their confidence with open shots they made and second chances," Pesic said.

"We're very disappointed because we wanted to win this game at any price. But for these games, it's necessary to be in a better physical shape," he added.

Italy will face France in the quarterfinals.

Like what we are doing? You can express your gratitude here.