Nemanja Bjelica: 'If I don't say it's a big shame, I lie to you' / News - Basketnews.com

Credit: FIBA Media Credit FIBA Media

Nemanja Bjelica pulled no punches following Serbia's defeat to Italy, which signaled the home side's elimination from the upcoming Tokyo Olympic Games.

Nemanja Bjelica

MIN:24.6PTS:11.67 (48.48%)REB:5.67As:0.67ST:1BL:1TO:1.33GM:3ProfileOQT2021

From the panel of the post-game presser, the experienced forward referred to his national team's failure to qualify for the big event by using strong language.

"If I don't say it's a big shame the way we lost the game, I will lie to you. I wasn't ready to play today. I don't think that's important," Bjelica uttered at the beginning.

"We played like shit, and the better team won tonight. With this attitude, we can't play basketball. I don't want to talk about pressure, but if you're not 100 percent here, you cannot win. I can apologize to our people. Our attitude has to change. I'm happy to be part of this team. In five years, we'll be gone. Talent can't win you games in this type of tournament. I will take responsibility as a player," the 33-year-old added.

"If we have Milos Teodosic playing full-court press for 40 minutes, something is wrong with us. What's the problem? I don't know. We want to exist in five years. We need to be mentally ready. It's a big shame how we lost the game. We didn't look like a team tonight," the 2015 Euroleague MVP concluded.

Watch Nemanja Bjelica's remarks from 3'10'' to 7'40'' of the video:

It should be noted that Serbia had not lost to Italy in an official game since its independence in 2006. Serbia were the finalists at the Rio 2016 Olympics, losing the gold medal to Team USA.

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