Kari’s punishing expedition started EuroBasket powerfully against the Estonians, who are not as naive a team as one might conclude from the result (98:64).
Brutal defense, ball pressure, counterattacks, ball movement in offense, shooting for two and three, everything worked almost perfectly considering it was their first outing/game at the tournament.
As for individual performance, no one particularly stood out; everything was again in the service of a strong collective; the person who was in the best position shot and finished attacks, without forcing 1-on-1 play with Jokić and Bogdan, which only speaks to the strength of the Eagles…
We have the tallest starting five in the championship, with three players over 2.08 meters (Jokić, Jović, Petrušev), which, despite its height, is terribly fast and in which everyone can shoot a three-pointer and be the first to run a counterattack.
Besides creating and setting up both offense and defense on the court as a coach, I have never seen Jokara so fired up in defense in his career, charging into every contact, building the paint, and especially making a foul on the three-point line against a guard who passes him after a switch – I estimate he hasn’t done that in at least the last 5 NBA seasons.
Avram dictated a hellish pace from the start, Jović (Nikola) managed best in that rhythm in transition, finishing counterattacks and hitting three-pointers, Petrušev opened up well both in the paint and for three, and Bogdan, like a captain, took the ball and responsibility when the attack didn’t end in a rush, in the first 7-8 seconds, but was built positionally.
Jović (Stefan) perfectly changed the rhythm and led the second five, playing well, breaking through. Vanja started great with two three-pointers and then “went wild” so Kari quickly returned him to the bench to cool down. By the way, Gudurić, Dobrić, and he were brutally locking down on defense yesterday and during the preparations and letting the opponents know that there would be no relaxation or fooling around with Serbia’s reserve lineup, which plays perhaps an even stronger defense than the starting one. Milutinov was standardly solid, maybe a little slower than this team’s Mojo requires.
And finally, Tristan Vukčević, a player we have missed so much in previous years, ever since Bjelica passed his zenith, and who will, I bet, be the biggest revelation of this tournament. With a height of 213 cm, that kind of shot, rebound, speed, and feel for the game, he simply has no match in European basketball, and it remains a mystery how Željko Obradović, with both eyes open, didn’t see what a gem he was “marinating” on the Partizan bench for two whole seasons.
All in all, it seems that this team has matured generationally and is ready for big games and that gold we’ve been waiting for since that distant Indianapolis in 2002.
The only one who somehow doesn’t fit into this story for me is Vasilije Mićić, who, even in his best form (let alone just recovered from an injury and without games in his legs) cannot keep up with the rhythm of this team, he holds the ball too much and slows down the attack, which might be useful for some other team, but not for this one.
It’s a shame that Pešić didn’t take Nikola Topić instead of him, to learn, to be forged, and to gain experience, because he is the one who should be the new Teodosić, the playmaker and leader of this national team in the next decade.
If I had my way, Koprivica would have traveled to this championship instead of Milutinov, another player whose quality Žoc did not notice, improve, and use at Partizan, and who, I am sure, will shine as an import in Turkey already next season.
I mean, okay, with this team we will probably hear “God of Justice” too, but we should also think about the future, about the Olympics in Los Angeles and a rematch against the Americans in the final.
God willing!
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VIDIĆ SUPPORTED THE STUDENTS: The state will be led by educated young people, not thugs!
Author: Antonije Kovačević Photo: FIBA