The young basketball national team of Serbia under 17 won the silver medal at the World Championship in Turkey. In the grand final of the planetary championship, our boys were defeated by the USA selection, but they return home with their heads held high as vice-champions of the world! In the grand final of the planetary championship, our boys were defeated by the powerful USA selection with a score of 107:81, but they return home with their heads held high as vice-champions of the world!
The Americans justified their role as the absolute favorites of the tournament, where before the final they crushed their rivals with a 40 to 50 point difference (they outclassed Australia in the semifinals by as much as 114:65). However, the chosen men of selector Mijovic made their rival sweat seriously tonight, especially during the first part of the game.
Serbia opened the match brilliantly and breathed down the Americans’ necks in the first quarter. With a three-pointer by Lazar Milicic and points by Nikola Kusturica from free throws, we melted the rival’s advantage to 34:25 in the second quarter. Matija Lukic tied three three-pointers out of as many attempts and, with a great lob pass to Kusturica, kept our team in the game before going to the big break (57:45).
In the second half, the Americans shifted into a higher gear through Bowman, Roser, and Black and created a more tangible advantage. Even when the difference went to +22, our selector shook up the team with a timeout message to relax and play their game, which resulted in a beautiful three-pointer by Simjanovski from nine meters to end the third quarter (81:61). In the last ten minutes, the physically more dominant rival routinely brought the match to a close and set the final 92:61.
The most efficient in our team was the phenomenal Nikola Kusturica with 21 points, followed by Matija Lukic with 10, while Stepanovic, Simjanovski, Miladinovic, and Milicic scored 3 points each, and Bjelica added two points.
Although the athletic dominance and longer bench of the Americans ultimately decided it, the “eaglets” deserve absolute praise. They showed character, an incredible team spirit, and proved that Serbian basketball absolutely does not have to worry about its future.
This silver has a golden glow.
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Source: Serbian Times Photo: FIBA