{"id":213711,"date":"2026-07-05T13:42:35","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:42:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=213711"},"modified":"2026-07-05T13:42:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:42:36","slug":"jokic-sends-a-powerful-message-ahead-of-the-pionir-showdown-against-bosnia-and-herzegovina-its-the-first-time-in-my-life-ive-been-a-team-captainill-remember-this-for-the-rest-of-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/jokic-sends-a-powerful-message-ahead-of-the-pionir-showdown-against-bosnia-and-herzegovina-its-the-first-time-in-my-life-ive-been-a-team-captainill-remember-this-for-the-rest-of-my-life\/","title":{"rendered":"JOKI\u0106 SENDS A POWERFUL MESSAGE AHEAD OF THE PIONIR SHOWDOWN AGAINST BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: &#8220;It&#8217;s the First Time in My Life I&#8217;ve Been a Team Captain\u2014I\u2019ll Remember This for the Rest of My Life!&#8221;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nikola Joki\u0107, the new captain of the Serbian national basketball team, spoke ahead of the Eagles&#8217; upcoming clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. at the Aleksandar Nikoli\u0107 Hall, better known as Pionir.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joki\u0107 recalled that it had been a long time since he last played at Pionir, saying his most vivid memory of the arena was a loss with Mega in the Serbian Cup final, when he missed the game-winning shot against Crvena Zvezda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reflecting on Serbia&#8217;s 97-73 victory over Switzerland, Joki\u0107 pointed out that the team recorded 32 assists, demonstrating their commitment to making the extra pass and creating better, open shots from the very beginning. He admitted that Serbia still missed several open looks, but stressed that the number of assists says a great deal about the team&#8217;s offensive approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Defensively, however, he acknowledged that Serbia was not at its best, particularly in the opening quarter, when the team got off to a poor start and struggled until halftime. According to Joki\u0107, the turning point came from the lineup that closed the third quarter and opened the fourth, bringing energy, momentum, and control of the game back to Serbia before carrying the team to victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">READ MORE: <\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-serbiantimes-info wp-block-embed-serbiantimes-info\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"rwu6zHN0So\"><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/kraj-price-je-jos-daleko-djokovic-protiv-opasnog-rusa-trazi-106-pobedu-na-vimbldonskoj-travi\/\">KRAJ PRI\u010cE JE JO\u0160 DALEKO: \u0110okovi\u0107 protiv opasnog Rusa tra\u017ei 106. pobedu na vimbldonskoj travi!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"\u201eKRAJ PRI\u010cE JE JO\u0160 DALEKO: \u0110okovi\u0107 protiv opasnog Rusa tra\u017ei 106. pobedu na vimbldonskoj travi!\u201c \u2014 Serbiantimes.info\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/kraj-price-je-jos-daleko-djokovic-protiv-opasnog-rusa-trazi-106-pobedu-na-vimbldonskoj-travi\/embed\/#?secret=uFUrJudW9f#?secret=rwu6zHN0So\" data-secret=\"rwu6zHN0So\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joki\u0107 also recalled that Serbia had already faced Bosnia and Herzegovina earlier in these qualifiers, edging out a hard-fought 74-72 road victory. This time, Bosnia and Herzegovina will be strengthened by the addition of Boston Celtics center Luka Garza, but Joki\u0107 emphasized that the team&#8217;s greatest strength lies in its collective play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;They&#8217;re all guys of similar build\u2014tall, strong\u2014and they&#8217;re a very tough team to play against,&#8221; Joki\u0107 said, adding that Serbia knows exactly what to expect. He stressed that his team must impose its own physicality and aggression and cannot allow its opponent to dictate the intensity of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Joki\u0107 also spoke emotionally about wearing the captain&#8217;s armband for Serbia. His first game as captain came against Switzerland, and ahead of the Pionir showdown he said he expects an even better atmosphere. The role, he admitted, carries special significance for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;It&#8217;s the first time in my life that I&#8217;ve been the captain of a team. It means a lot to me. I&#8217;ll remember this for the rest of my life,&#8221;<\/em> Nikola Joki\u0107 said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/the-karadordevics-awoke-the-diaspora-in-chicago-serbia-should-return-to-its-tradition-to-be-a-monarchy-again-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">THE KARA\u0110OR\u0110EVI\u0106S AWOKE THE DIASPORA IN CHICAGO: \u201cSerbia should return to its tradition, to be a monarchy again!\u201d (VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/serbian-among-the-victims-in-a-plane-crash-skydiving-instructor-filip-kovacevic-killed-in-an-accident-in-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">SERBIAN AMONG THE VICTIMS IN A PLANE CRASH: Skydiving instructor Filip Kova\u010devi\u0107 killed in an accident in France!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/if-he-does-not-give-up-he-is-going-to-the-cemetery-kokeza-hired-criminals-to-attack-nemanja-vidic-scandalous-messages-revealed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">\u201cIF HE DOES NOT GIVE UP, HE IS GOING TO THE CEMETERY\u201d: Kokeza hired criminals to attack Nemanja Vidi\u0107, scandalous messages revealed!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/great-initiative-from-england-how-to-most-easily-teach-your-children-in-the-diaspora-to-write-and-read-cyrillic-photo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">GREAT INITIATIVE FROM ENGLAND: How to most easily teach your children in the diaspora to write and read Cyrillic! (PHOTO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/voice-and-verses-that-awaken-pride-danica-crnogorcevic-released-a-new-song-that-gladdened-serbs-around-the-world-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong>VOICE AND VERSES THAT AWAKEN PRIDE: Danica Crnogor\u010devi\u0107 released a new song that gladdened Serbs around the world! (VIDEO)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/genius-from-serbia-thrilled-the-world-veljko-learned-to-program-at-only-eight-years-old-and-now-he-is-the-best-student-of-novi-sad\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">GENIUS FROM SERBIA THRILLED THE WORLD: Veljko learned to program at only eight years old, and now he is the best student of Novi Sad!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><strong><strong>Source<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/nova.rs\/sport\/kosarka\/jokic-o-kapitenskoj-traci-pamticu-ovo-do-kraja-zivota-mnogo-mi-znaci\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Nova.rs <\/a><strong>Foto:<\/strong> EPA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nikola Joki\u0107, the new captain of the Serbian national basketball team, spoke ahead of the Eagles&#8217; upcoming clash against Bosnia and Herzegovina, scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. at the Aleksandar Nikoli\u0107 Hall, better known as Pionir. Joki\u0107 recalled that it had been a long time since he last played at Pionir, saying his most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":210570,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[8456,249,190,11533,13414,13286,113],"class_list":["post-213711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport","tag-kapiten","tag-kosarka-2","tag-nba","tag-pionir","tag-revans","tag-spektakl","tag-srbija","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213711"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":213758,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213711\/revisions\/213758"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210570"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}